Forgotten
by Krystallenever
Summary: Glimpses of her snow-like hair still linger in their mind. Her voice sounds distantly familiar. Her face cannot be seen through the blur that has now settled in. She has been forgotten. She is familiar, yet a stranger. She isn't one of them. Why can't they remember? The answer is simple: forgetting is easier than remembering. OC
1. Prologue

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Prologue**

* * *

Glimpses of her snow-like hair still linger in their mind. Her voice sounds distantly familiar. Her face cannot be seen through the blur that has now settled in. She has been forgotten. She's not even a memory of the past. Did she even exist? She must have. They seem to know her. She is familiar, yet a stranger. She isn't one of them. She's from another place. This place is dark, cold, distant, feared... This place is a threat to Earth's existence. This place gave birth to an evil creature. This place, as far as it may seem, caused death to Earth. She's from that place. However, the very little memories that they might, perhaps, have of her aren't like that place. There's light where she stands. There's warmth where she walks. There's a sweet melody when she talks. Who is she? Why can't they remember? The answer is simple: forgetting is easier than remembering.

* * *

 **End of prologue**

* * *

I hope the prologue has given you something to look forward too.

Thank you for taking the time to read this short prologue.

xox

Krystal


	2. Chapter 1: The White Rabbit

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The White Rabbit**

* * *

 **W** inter: the snow has settled down on the ground as more are fluttering in the air. The cold air is refreshing, yet painful when inhaled. The animals are taking refuge in trees, caves... Some, with thicker fur, dip their paws into the fluffy white snow. Some has their fur changed to match that snow.

"Such nice weather outside..."

"Hokage-sama, you must be kidding. It's freezing outside. We should really head back in or we'll catch a cold."

The man chuckled.

"Do you really think I'm that old? And have you forgotten, Minato? I'm no longer the Hokage." He pointed to the mountain behind them where four faces were carved meticulously. He resembled one of them, except he looked much older. The man he talked to was identical to the face on the far right.

"I still haven't gotten used to it." he said with a soft smile. "And I meant nothing of the sort. It was out of care that I suggested we head back in."

"Let's walk for a little bit longer."

The man named Minato nodded as he followed the elder man. They walked silently side by side, looking around in awe of this pure white beauty. Slowly, they reached the cemetery of the village. As they walk by many of the tombs, they stopped by one with the inscription: _Rin._ Minato closed his eyes as the old man gave him a pat on the back. Minato smiled and continued to walk. Next, they stopped by the monument for those who were killed in action.

"We've lost so many..." began Minato. "So many lives..."

"Indeed." followed up the old man.

As their eyes shifted from the monument to the ground, they noticed the bizarre behaviour of snow-like bunnies. They gathered around a pile of snow by the monument, almost as if they were mourning for the dead.

"They too feel the pain." said the elder.

As they were about to walk away, a cry was heard. The two men turned around at the pile of snow. It wasn't just a pile of snow. Something was underneath that cold snow. The old man bent down and pushed the snow aside. The cry became much louder. The rabbits moved away with light jumps. The old man picked up a...

"A baby?" said Minato as he opened his eyes widely. "How..."

"It's a new born girl." said the old man. "A beautiful girl."

The baby was indeed beautiful. Her eyes were round and glittering with light. Her hair was as white as the snow that covered her. Her skin was translucent and bright. Her face, though cold from the harsh winter, was luminescent. She was crying, but her cry was like a old man wrapped her up in his scarf. He looked at her with kind eyes and a smile. She slowly quieted down.

"A victim of the war, yet another one." said the old man.

Minato nodded as he thought of his unborn child. His child would have parents who love him and care for him, unlike this poor little girl.

The two men quickly made their way to the hospital where she could be cared for. Her body was going cold and her eyelids were getting heavy. Her tiny lips were starting to turn blue. The sounds that she made got quieter and quieter. Her heartbeat was slowing down by the minute. When they finally got to the hospital, the nurses quickly took care of her.

"Yondaime. We need someone to sign here as her guardian." said a nurse to Minato.

"I will do it." said the old man as he grabbed the pen from the nurse. For some unknown reason, more than for any other child he had met, the elder felt some connection to this child in particular. She was someone destined to something special. There was no doubt about it.

"She doesn't have a name either..." said the nurse as she took back the pen and chart from him.

"Yuki. If it wasn't for this beautiful snow day, we wouldn't have found her. Furthermore, we found her covered in snow, surrounded by snow rabbits. I think it is a fair name for her."

"Sandaime, she is a lucky child to be named by you and guarded by you."

"I see something bright in her future. I will raise her to become the light in the darkness."

* * *

 **T** wo years have passed. Her white hair has grown fast, reaching now the middle of her back. She was already a beauty at a tender age. Her eyes are glittering more than ever. Her bright face shone more than ever. This winter, she wasn't cold. She was wearing a large white coat with the scarf that saved her life two years ago. If truth was spoken, she was never cold. The winter seemed to be part of her. The winter wind was blowing and yet she was out in the hills running, sliding, making snow angels. She didn't have many friends. She was rather quiet. She was smart for her age and never came to play with others. They sometimes were intimidated by her, other times feared her. She didn't mind it. She had a grandpa who cared for her and taught her the beauties in life. She enjoyed reading. Yes, at the tender age of 2, she was able to read, communicate like an adult, understand complex things. She first talked when she was only 11 months. One of her favourite books was "The Art of War." There's no doubt she was an interesting child, but she is, after all, still a child. She enjoyed complexity, but also the simple things in life: the snow, the sky, the clouds, the bunnies. Her grandpa, when he had the time, told her the story about the snow bunnies saving a child's life. She liked how they thought like humans in a way.

* * *

 **A** nother year has passed. Yuki grew more beautiful by the day, stronger by the day and smarter by the minute. She still enjoyed reading "The Art of War." It was still full of surprises even after that many readings. The book now looked old, stained by time. Aside from that, Yuki became able to control her chakra to allow her to climb tree, walk on water and run faster. She was also, somehow, able to form snowball without effort, ice from water and blow out snow as she wished. Her name fitted her like a glove.

With time, she grew more distant from the other kids. She also grew distant from the Third Hokage who now was busier and busier by the day. Her friends, now more than ever, were the snow bunnies in the hills. They were gentle creatures who always stayed around her. They seemed to understand her and she seemed to speak their language. She trained in front of them. They inspired her. She spoke to them, they didn't never really reply back, but she was happy to share something with someone.

"I really wish you guys could talk."

"We can... well, some of us can."

Yuki was taken aback. One of the bunnies did reply. She wasn't crazy. One of them really spoke. She looked around at the bunnies. One stood out. His fur was whiter than any other bunnies. His eyes were filled with life and mischievousness. She looked at him, he looked back. She smiled, he smiled back.

"Have you heard of summoning, little girl?"

She nodded. _So that's a summoning animal._ She thought.

"Well, you summoned me, didn't you?"

"I don't reckon I did. I'm not even familiar with the jutsu."

"Lies. If you are not familiar with summoning, how do you know it's a jutsu?"

"I read about it only."

"So you are familiar."

"I guess..." Yuki said as she innocently looked at her hands. There was a small cut on her thumb. A little bit of blood was spilling out of it. "I never signed a contract though..."

"You did. At birth. That's why we, snow rabbits, have always looked over you."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 1**

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It will be a slow start as I want to introduce Yuki before I get more characters involved.

Thank you for reading.

xox

Krystal


	3. Chapter 2: Day 1

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Day 1**

* * *

 **H** e knew she was special, but he did not expect her to be such a natural talent. She was now four. She was now able to surpass some of the most of the experienced genins. She was agile, smart and resourceful. She mastered 3 of the 5 nature elements. She was able to combine them at will. Even more than that, she had certain techniques that are, otherwise, inexistent in any other ninjas. He no longer had much to teach her. He never really had to teach her. He began to notice that she got bored. He tried to get her to join the Academy. She didn't adapt well. She used a replacement jutsu more than half the time and stayed out in the hills where she always found comfort. He let her graduate early. She was never placed in a team. She was told to work by herself. She preferred that anyway. She stayed in the outskirts of the village. She was a genius that was unknown to most. She disliked commitment. Every time she thought of it, she reminded herself of her guardian, the Third, how he never had any time, how he couldn't freely go in and out of the village. She wanted to travel, but she didn't even know what it meant. She compared it to the migration of the birds. One year at the time, they came and left. Nobody knows who they are, but they always expect them to come back.

"Grandfather, I want to be like a bird."

He was surprised by her statement that evening. He looked away from the tons of papers that was on his desk.

"I always thought you liked bunnies, Yuki."

"I do, but they are just out there. They run around, but are never able to move too far away from their nest. Birds, on the other hand, see so much more. When they are of age, they travel far from their nest…"

"Yuki, are you… do you want to leave this village? Has this village became an insignificant place to you?"

"No. A bird never forgets where it came from. It leaves, but will always come back eventually. It is home afterall."

The old man chuckled. _Home, eh?_

"If you really want to see the world, you could… but, please, always remember where home is."

Yuki's eyes lightened up. She smiled. She stopped twirling her hair and walked toward the old man she always called grandfather:

"Home will be where you are, grandfather."

"Home," he began, "is where your heart is. One day, I will no longer be here, but my heart and soul will rest in this village. This village is my home. Yuki, if you are to leave, I want you to look around the village one more time. I want you to look at it differently than you ever did before. Look at its beauty. Look at its people. Talk to them. Listen to them. Then come back and tell me: do you love this village and all of its aspect? Will this place be where you heart lies? Take it as your first mission for the village as a full-fledged ninja."

He tapped her forehead protector lightly. She raised her right eyebrow. She sighed. This was a difficult mission for her. Not that she didn't love this village, but this village, other than the Third, has brought her nothing less of a stab in the heart sometimes. She didn't know what there was to love. She nodded after a while. As much as it is troublesome to her, if this is what will grant her the freedom to explore the world, she had to do this.

"Come back after a week. I want to hear what you have to say." Said the old man as he looked down once again to his mountain of papers.

* * *

 **D** ay 1: She felt uncomfortable going into the streets of the village. She thought it would be better to take one step at the time after all. She came closer to the lively village, but stayed where it would be quieter. The sky was especially blue on that day. Only a few clouds were floating around. They seemed freer than ever to Yuki. She wandered around without looking at anyone. She had to establish communication, but she wasn't ready for it. She kept her eyes locked on the clouds. Soon enough, she found herself jumping from rooftop to rooftop before finally landing on a roof that gave her the clearest view of all. The wind blew gently as well. She smiled. The view of the sky in the village was more beautiful then she remembered it being.

"Hey, if you want to watch the clouds, come sit next to me. You are blocking my view when you are standing there."

Yuki looked behind her. A young boy, about her age, was sitting on a bench staring at the clouds. He looked troubled by her presence. But no, he offered her a seat. She apologetically moved from her spot onto the bench.

"You don't mind?" she asked.

"The sky doesn't belong to anyone." He replied monotonously.

"No, I meant… Never mind."

"You know, it's very troublesome when people don't finish their thoughts' process."

"I'm sorry."

"It's also troublesome when somebody apologizes for no reason. It makes me feel bad."

"I'm…"

He chuckled. She looked at him, perplexed. He seemed like a monotone person who disliked her presence, but his laugh was warm and full of life.

"The sky is quite enjoyable today. I'm glad I found someone who likes looking at the clouds like me. My parents always think that I am weird and act like an old man. I'm glad somebody else is just as elderly for her age as me."

Yuki smiled and looked at the sky as she murmured: "I'm also glad I met you…" Before she could say anymore, she heard a woman's voice call out:

"Shikamaru. Get down here! It's almost dinner time and you are still sitting there!"

Yuki heard that boy sigh.

"I guess that is it for today. I'll see you around."

He hopped off the bench and took his time heading to the staircase as he took one last glance at the sky that was slowly turning to an orange tone as the sun began to set. She nodded as she waved goodbye. She was surprised at how easy it was, somehow, to talk to that boy. He seemed to complain a lot, but he was kind and seemed to understand without the need for words. She looked down from the roof and saw him walking ahead of the woman that earlier called for him. She gently patted his head. Yuki could hear him complain in an endearing way, calling that woman mom. As he walked further away, Yuki began to wonder if she really would be seeing him around. She was about to leave after all. Was she really ever coming back? As her head filled itself with different thoughts, the night had settled in. The sky was dark with very few stars to be seen. It was not like when she was out in the hills and the stars shone brightly. At that moment, she thought of how the sky in the hills might be more beautiful after all. She hopped off the bench and began heading down. In her drop down to the ground, she saw multiple lights shining throughout the village. They shone as brightly as the stars she could spot in the sky outside the village.

 _Pretty._ She thought at that moment. It was the first time she actually witnessed the village's nightlife. It was indeed quite pretty. Amber, golden, green, blue, red lights were shining all over the place. People's laughter could be heard. Sweet smell of food spread throughout the streets. She was attracted by those scents and those bright lights. Before she knew it, she was wandered right in the middle of the streets.

Her stomach suddenly growled. She blushed out of embarrassment even though, probably, nobody heard. She hugged her stomach quickly as she was about to run off to a dark alley.

"I heard that. Hahaha." Said a little voice filled with mischievousness.

Yuki's face turned even redder as she turned around to see who was talking to her. A boy with blonde spikey hair and the brightest blue eyes she has ever seen was standing there with a big grin on his smile. _Yondaime's son…_ She thought. She looked at him with eyes filled with curiosity. She has only heard negative rumors about him from others, but the Third always called him an _interesting child_.

"You look at me… differently." He said as he looked away.

"How so?" asked Yuki surprised by his sudden response to her stare.

"You are not cursing me."

"Why would…" she began before she was reminded of the Nine-tailed beast.

He chuckled and asked: "Are you hungry? Do you want to grab some ramen?"

She nodded and walked with him down the streets. As they made their way to the ramen place, she noticed people looked at him with evil eyes… as if they were, indeed, cursing him. Yuki, herself, was always on her own, but she had someone who loved her and she was never considered a curse. She looked at him with kind eyes. _He must have suffered._ She thought.

"Don't pity me. I'm not sad. I've gotten used to those looks. They don't affect me anymore. I know I'm a great kid. I just know."

"I'm sure you are."

He grinned widely and asked:

"Since I'm so awesome, it's your treat today for ramen!"

"Eh? Oh, sure…"

 _He is an interesting human being indeed._

* * *

 **End of Chapter 2**

* * *

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.

xoxox

Krystal


	4. Chapter 3: The Light Post

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Light Post**

* * *

 **A** few more days have gone by. The deadline set by the Third is nearing. As much as the mission seemed impossible at the beginning, Yuki has come to enjoy her time in the village. People are not as scary as they appear to be. Reality was that we all are like a grain of sand among many others. As special as one might be, we all are special and are all alike. Although looks might be thrown at you, they only hurt if you pay attention to them.

Yuki, within the last few days, has learned to smile more. She learned to stay among the people. She, actually, learned to enjoy their presence. She didn't see that Shikamaru boy again nor the Fourth's son, but she is often reminded of them when she sees the sky or she smells a tempting bowl of broth. She has met other among the crowd.

* * *

 **I** t was a rainy day. Yuki sheltered herself underneath a tree in a park. The shower of rain happened out of nowhere and was bound to end quickly as well. Quick rain always ended just as fast in this village.

"Don't move."

She froze. She didn't notice a presence nearby her. A pale hand hovered over head and touched her hair gently.

"There was a bug I wanted to capture in your hair."

She turned around to see a kid, same age, most likely, tall for his age and with pale skin. His voice was quiet and reassuring even if it took her by surprise. Before they could talk, the rain stopped and he started walking away. His footsteps were light, making no sound even though the ground was wet. He disappeared in the distance. He was just like the rain: appeared from nowhere and disappeared just as fast.

* * *

" **I** tachi-nii-san, you said you would help me train!" said a tiny voice overloaded with cuteness.

Yuki looked further down the street. A little boy was pulling on his older brother's arm and making puppy eyes to him.

"Sasuke, I'm busy tonight. I'm on patrol duty. Next time, alright?"

"You always say that." The kid said, sulking.

His brother chuckled as he waved goodbye to his younger brother. He disappeared. The younger one smiled and ran in the direction of Yuki. As he ran pass her, he accidentally bumped her shoulder. Yuki didn't budge. She was intrigued by that Itachi. She kept staring at the spot where he disappeared.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" said the kid named Sasuke. He quickly left after that.

Yuki didn't even hear his apology. She was lost in her thoughts. _Uchiha Itachi, eh? He's a well known ANBU who accomplishes his missions constantly with success. From what I understand and know, ANBUs are known to be cold and deadly. He is surprisingly warm. No... He also has a dark aura surrounding him._

* * *

 **L** ater that night, as she has been doing for the past few nights, she wandered the streets of Konoha as she gazed at the stars. There still weren't many that could be seen. Yuki liked walking. It kept her active. Walking was never tiring to her... maybe that's why she wanted to travel. She liked seeing things and walking.

"You know, it's not safe to walk around in the middle of the night at your age." said a familiar voice from above.

Yuki looked up. On top of a light post, there was a shadow of a man. He jumped down from the high post. He was wearing an ANBU mask. _Itachi_. Yuki has been, for a while now, able to recognize people by their chakra. There was no doubt that he was Uchiha Itachi. She did not reply to his comment. It was funny how, whenever he was around, there wasn't much she could say. It was like she was mesmerized by his presence.

"You don't look afraid." He said with a gentle voice as he leaned against the light post.

She shook her head. She didn't think there was anything to fear. She knew who he was and he had no reason to harm her. She was also able to defend herself quite well.

"You know, you should always fear a stranger... especially in these times."

"I don't understand..."

He seemed confused by his body language at her reply.

"You are not a stranger. Not really anyway. You are a ninja from this village and I know of your identity. What is there to fear?"

"You are... I see. You are that kid. Yuki, right?"

She nodded.

"You graduated early from the academy, right? Do you miss it?"

She shook her head. She raised her right eyebrow. She didn't know Uchiha Itachi was actually that talkative.

"I sometimes wonder if it's best to stay as a child for as long as possible or to understand the world as quickly as possible."

"You are more useful when you understand more." Yuki quickly answered before she realized it was more of a rhetorical question.

He chuckled.

"You are quite wise for a child."

She smiled at that comment. She never felt she was ever a child. If she was, it didn't last for very long. She did, after all, grow up, mentally speaking, much faster than kids her age. She liked things that only older people did, she talked like an old sage... She never lived like a child, except for those rare occasions where she talked the snow rabbits.

"I'll take you home." He then said.

"I can go home by myself." She replied.

"Sometimes, staying a child and needing help is better than becoming a full grown adult." He said as he stood straight and away from the light post.

"How? I don't see the advantages of being a child."

He chuckled and leaned once again on the lamp post as if he was resting. It seemed like the conversation was not to be over anytime soon.

"Being cared for, being free of worries, having an untainted mind... to name a few reasons." He said as he looked into the light of the post.

"But some children aren't cared for, full of worries and tainted by the evilness of the world... Being an adult will allow them to build a mind of their own, grow stronger." She replied as she thought about Naruto and herself.

"Those children are no longer children then." He said. "They are, basically, adults. Not in age or appearance, but in mind. I assume you are talking about yourself."

She shook her head.

"I am cared for. I have someone who cares about me very much. I was thinking of..."

"Naruto-kun?"

"How did you..."

"Know? He's the only child I can think of when I speak of having to grow up too quickly. Isn't he interesting, though? He somehow maintained some of his innocence despite all the hate he receives."

"Yes... He is. He is almost untainted." Yuki said as she remembered the events from the other day.

"It's getting really late now. Just act as a child today, I'll take you home safely."

Yuki did not refuse his offer this time around. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps, sometimes, it was best for her to be the child that she should be. Perhaps then, she would be able to open up her heart to what the Third has spoken of. Perhaps then, she would be able to learn from the beginning how to love and care. As they headed back to her place, they didn't say one word. It wasn't an awkward silence. They both thought about what was said. As they stepped toward her front door, Itachi vanished in a flash. Yuki looked at the lamp post in front her place. She smiled. _Itachi is like a light post. He stands tall and enlightens others. He guards others for their safety. He is a light in the darkness._ Her face became a little duller as she thought a little more. _What was that dark aura I sense though? Within his warmth, there was something cold..._ She shook her head and opened the door to her place. Enough thinking for the day. Just like Itachi said, let her be a child for this one day.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 3**

* * *

Thank you for reading! I hope you are enjoying the story.

xoxox

Krystal


	5. Chapter 4: The Answer

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Answer**

* * *

 **T** he long awaited day has come. When the moon would appear in the sky, Yuki was to give her answer to the Hokage. The question he had posed was not an easy one to answer to. There wasn't a right or wrong answer to it. There was only an answer that must come from the heart. Did Yuki's little heart beat when she thought of the village? Did she start feeling an attachment to this village? Time wasn't up yet. She still had time to figure out the answer. Deep inside, she knew she was leaving regardless of the answer she gave. Why? If she loved the village, the Hokage will let her go as promised and await her return to this place called home. If she didn't love the village, there's no reason to keep her in a place that she despised. The Third would tell her to leave and not expect her return any time soon. What answer was she to give?

Regardless of that, she knew there was one place she needed to visit before leaving the village: the place where she was found a little over 4 years ago. The sky was grey and filled with clouds that day and a fog covered the village with an eerie vibe. It wasn't one of those days that made you feel good. It was a perfect day to visit a cemetery. She made her way to the entrance. It was as empty as always. The dead are gone and the living continue on. There was no surprise there. She, too, sometimes, can't bother to think of those who are already gone. It didn't have to do with whether she truly loved them or not when they were alive. It just always turned out that way. As she approached the K.I.A. tombstone where she was found, a shadow of a man began to show itself. He was just standing there, alone, with his hands in his pocket. He didn't make a sound, he didn't move an inch. His face, as she got closer and could distinguish the details now, was covered by a mask. He was wearing the ANBU's uniform. _Another ANBU._ She thought. ANBUs are known in the village to be around but unseen. They are omnipresent. The Third often said that they were the necessary shadows of the village and that their existence could never be erased. However, shadows are to remain shadows. They are never at the forefront, they are never to be noticed. In only a few days, she has now encountered two of them. Itachi exuded a warm aura with an underlying dark and cold one. This ANBU exuded no aura. He seemed as if he was dead. There was no energy, no life. He was just like a statue. _No. I am wrong. There's something there..._ She thought. There was something there, deep, deep inside that barely alive being. She just kept on looking at his profile. He didn't seem to notice her or be bothered by her. She then shifted her eyes back to the tombstone and to its foundation, where she was found. She kept silence and did not move much. It didn't last long. The man turned around and started walking away. Before he was out of sight, he said:

"Aren't you too young to have lost somebody?"

His voice was monotonous, flat.

"I was all alone from the beginning. I don't have nobody to lose." she replied as she began to walk towards him.

"Nobody, eh?" he said as he sighed. He kept on walking. He didn't look back.

"Who did you lose?" Yuki asked hurriedly.

"A few... if not everyone."

It took her aback. He said it so casually, yet the simple fact that he was standing there for who knows how long proved this casualness to be more painful than he made it seem.

"How..." she began.

He raised his arm up and with his other hand pointed to his head: "This hand, this mind..."

He kept walking. She froze. He disappeared in the mist. _That's the type of ANBU I've always heard and imagined of._

* * *

The night has fallen. The moon couldn't be seen through the clouds. Only glimpses of its light was at time perceptible. As she made her way to the Third's office, she thought of today's earlier events. She couldn't help but sigh. Before she knew it, she made it to the Hokage's office. She still didn't know what to say. She hoped that he would guide her with questions and that those questions would help her answer him.

She knocked on his door.

"It's open. Come on in."

She opened the door gently and walked into his office lit by only a few candles. He was there, sitting behind his desk. Next to him, a man was standing with his hands behind his back. It was that man from this morning. He was no longer wearing the ANBU mask, but he was still masked. His expressions were still hard to read.

"It's you." he said.

The Hokage looked at him and asked:

"Kakashi, you know Yuki?"

"So, that's Yuki..." he murmured. "No, I've only briefly met her this morning in the cemetery."

Yuki nodded at his answer. _Kakashi? The Copy ninja? The infamous young ANBU?_

"Yuki, now, why don't you tell me all the things you've experienced these past few days?"

She remained silent. She looked at Kakashi, then at the Hokage. The Third was smiling at her.

"So?"

"I..." Yuki started in a stutter. She took a deep breathe and started telling her story from when she met that Shikamaru boy to Kakashi. She did not, however, ever describe her feelings. They were all statements of what happened. She did not know how she felt about each of the stories. It would also be untrue to say so. She just did not know how to describe those feelings.

"Yuki, how was it for you meeting these people?"

"It was, for lack of better words, interesting." she replied.

The old man chuckled. Yuki bit her lip. It wasn't funny to her. The situations were indeed interesting.

"Sandaime, I'll be honest with you. I did see glimpses of the beauty you talked about, but I saw a lot more of the darkness that I've always feared of and imagined of when thinking of a village like ours. Shikamaru enjoyed the peace, but he seemed to be like a caged bird. Naruto, although seemingly happy and strong, has been scarred by the villagers' glares. That boy I met during the rain was quiet, reserved and wants to be understood, but isn't heard by others. Itachi has this dark aura within him that I can't seem to explain. Kakashi, here, is pained by the past wars and his scars haven't healed. He, himself, is almost... excuse me for the harsh term, dead inside."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow at that comment and commented:

"For a 4-year-old, you seem quite wise. You read characters well."

The Hokage chuckled again: "Isn't she? Wise beyond her age indeed...but Yuki still hasn't answered the main question... Do you love this village? Can you call this place home?"

Silence again. It was the question she feared she had to answer. It was the question that would determine how she was to leave the village: as a member or as an exiled?

"I... I still don't love this village."

The warm expression on the Hokage's face disappeared. He crossed his arms and looked right into her eyes. Kakashi seemed shocked by her honest answer.

"There seems to be more to that statement, Yuki." said the Hokage in a firm tone.

"I'm sorry, but I still cannot bring myself to love the village. The beauty that you talked about is there, but it is so fragile and tangible. I feel like a simple needle can turn that beauty into a nightmare. It's like the beauty is inside a bubble that can be busted at anytime. If I stayed inside the village, I am nothing by a trapped bird. I want to be out there. I want to be free..."

"You are moving away from the question, Yuki. This isn't about you leaving or not. This is about whether you love this place or not... I think you've given me an answer."

The Hokage pulled out a paper. It seemed to a be a grant to allow Yuki to leave the village. She couldn't see and read all the exact terms of the grant. The Hokage seemed disappointed though. It couldn't be good. However, Yuki wasn't done. She knew her answer now. She knew what she truly wanted.

"I want to be free... but I want to be free within this village. Hokage-sama, please allow me to become an ANBU. I want to move freely in the shadows of the village, unseen, unheard... Hokage-sama, please allow me the time to learn to love this village in my own way."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 4**

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Here is to the end of the introduction and into the main story as we know it.

xoxox

Krystal


	6. Chapter 5: Sacrifices

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Sacrifices**

* * *

 **M** any years have passed now. Yuki was now proudly wearing the ANBU's uniform. She was an excellent ninja: fast, resourceful, intelligent and decisive. When she first joined, she was under Kakashi's guidance. His team quickly became her friends and trusted ones. It didn't take long before she lead her own small team. Because the Hokage was well aware of her desire to travel, she was often given recognition or data gathering missions in foreign lands. Out of all the ANBUs, she was likely the one who knew the best about foreign geography.

Yuki was walking down the hallway in the ANBUs' quarters with her mask down in her right hand. She was just back from a mission around the Grass Village and had just reported to the Hokage. She was finally getting some time off: one day to be precise. She didn't mind not having a day off, but it sure was nice to relax a little bit. To some extent, being an ANBU revealed itself to be a ruthless and tiresome job. However, it kept her busy. It kept her wanting to protect Konoha. It was the purpose for which she joined the ANBU squad after all.

Yuki almost reached her locker room when she noticed a shadow walking towards her. _Uchiha Itachi._ His mask was also off and but he was wearing his uniform. She had grown close to him when she was under Kakashi's guidance. The more she knew about him, the more he intrigued her. It was a mutual feeling between the two of them. He gave a nod of acknowledgement and nothing more. She nodded back. She couldn't help to notice that his face was darker than usual and that something heavy was hovering over his shoulders. Itachi was usually pretty warm when encountering Yuki, but he seemed distant. There was definitely something off about him. He walked past her and she looked at his back as he disappeared into the darkness of the hallway. Right before the darkness fully engulfed him, he said:

"You would look over my brother if something happened to me, right?"

"Sasuke? Yeah... but Itachi, with your skills, I doubt I would need to do that for you."

He gave a small fake chuckle.

"I'm glad to hear that. Thank you, Yuki."

He walked away. _It must be quite a mission if he is worried about his brother._ She thought to herself as she opened the door to her locker room.

* * *

 **2** AM. Yuki opened her eyes in shock. She had a nightmare about a massacre. The violence that she witnessed in her nightmare troubled her. Yuki was not one to fear blood or death. She has seen countless now, being an ANBU. This was out of the ordinary. She calmed herself by taking deep breathes. It was just a nightmare. She looked outside the window at the moon. She saw a familiar shadow from a afar. She blinked. It was gone. She blinked again: still nothing. She shook her head and smiled a little bit. _I'm just seeing things because I'm tired._ She thought as she was about to pull her blankets up and sleep again. She could sleep in tomorrow as she was off-duty. Before she could make herself comfortable, she heard a knock on her window. She quickly turned her head and saw one of her fellow ANBU out there. He gave her sign to get moving and to head to the Hokage's office. It seemed like her nightmare was a premonition to something bad after all. She gave him a nod that signified her understanding and he left to notify the others. She rushed out of bed, grabbed her ANBU jacket and mask, quickly tidied up her hair and tied her forehead protector onto her belt. She left within a minute.

Yuki arrived on the rooftop of the Hokage's office. She lined up with the others. The Third was facing them with a dark expression. As everybody arrived, he cleared his throat and began explaining:

"Tonight, something terrible has happened to the village. Uchiha Itachi deserted the village after killing off his clan members."

Yuki felt her heart sink. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. All the others appeared to have the same thoughts.

"Is there any survivor?" asked one of them.

"Just the young Sasuke. He has been taken to the hospital." replied the Hokage with a saddened voice.

Everybody went silent. The Hokage cleared his throat again before continuing:

"Itachi has now left the village. He will be branded as a S-rank criminal. He is wanted dead or alive. He is no longer your teammate and you will show no mercy if you ever encounter him. But do take precautions. We are all aware of how strong he is. We are not chasing after him tonight. Your job is to ensure the villagers' safety and well-being. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." said everyone in unison except for Yuki.

"You are all dismissed." said the Hokage as he turned his back to the ANBUs.

Everyone left. Yuki remained there.

"Hokage-sama..." she began.

"You are dismissed."

Yuki took off her mask and asked:

"Can I talk to you as your granddaughter then?"

"Yuki..."

Yuki started feeling her eyes getting filled up with tears. She isn't usually one to cry. She couldn't even remember the last time she cried. The feeling just overwhelmed her. She bit down onto her lip, took a deep breathe and said with a shaky voice:

"He wouldn't do such a thing. He loved them more than anything. He loved his brother more than anything. I can vouch for that. He asked to me to take care of Sasuke if anything was to happen to him. Why would someone like that kill his fellow clan members? I don't understand. Grandpa, please explain this to me in a way that I can understand... right now, this all doesn't make any sense to me!"

She closed her eyes as big tears rolled down her cheek. They were warm against her cold cheeks. She clenched her teeth as a way to stop those tears from coming, but they kept on coming. She suddenly felt a warm hand against her back.

"Yuki, sometimes, we make decisions that are irrational..."

"Itachi isn't an irrational man. If anything, he is more rational than all of us."

"I never said he made an irrational decision."

Yuki stopped her sobbing. _Something seems wrong in this situation. If Itachi truly is such a terrible murderer, the order to hunt him down would be immediate. However, we were told to ensure the villagers' well-being. Itachi also asked me, today, to care for Sasuke._

"This was his mission, wasn't it? It was because there was doubt about the Uchiha's potential rebellion, wasn't it?" she asked as her heart began to beat faster and faster. "This was his own choice, wasn't it? He... He believed this was the only solution, wasn't it? Tell me that you didn't make him do this!"

"Yuki..."

"How much pain is he going through right now?"

"He would be in more pain if he let them rebel against the village."

"How much did he love this village?"

"Very much..."

"How much did he love Sasuke?"

"More than anything, like you said."

Yuki's legs gave out. She crumbled to the ground.

"Does Sasuke know?" she asked looking blankly ahead of her.

"No. He asked for this to remain a secret as it would preserve the Uchiha's prestige."

"So, he sacrificed himself, just like that, without caring who else would get hurt along the way?"

"Many have done so before him. They just believed that their own sacrifice and the few that will be hurt along the way is better than never ending bloodshed."

"Many?"

"You know about Hyuga Hizashi? The Hyuga affair, a few years back? It was around the same time as when you became an ANBU. He, too, sacrificed himself and, perhaps, the happiness of his son for the sake of his clan and this village."

"We just added another tale to that one."

"Sometimes, sacrifices are necessary..."

"I hope the village is proud of itself for such sacrifices." Yuki said sarcastically as she picked herself off the ground.

"Yuki..."

She turned towards the Third and gave his a sad smile before putting on her mask.

"Hokage-sama, I'll go help the others now."

"Yuki..."

She disappeared in a whirlwind of snow crystals. The Hokage looked at those crystals where the rising sun was reflecting through. It was already another day.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 5**

* * *

Thank you so much for reading.

xoxox

Krystal


	7. Chapter 6: Team Gai

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Team Gai**

* * *

 **"D** id you hear, senpai? Gai is going to start leading his own team of genins." said a man with a rather squared face and big dark eyes.

Kakashi nodded. He sighed. He, himself, has tried to guide some genins, but before he could teach them anything, they failed his test. Knowing Gai, he wouldn't do that. He believed that only hard work matters. If the genins showed that they were willing to work hard, he would pass them without any questions.

It was a nice afternoon in the village. Yuki, Kakashi and that other man was sitting by the river sipping on their tea.

"Do you know who is in his team?" asked Kakashi casually.

"Not really, but I heard the number one rookie this year is in his team." replied the man with an admiration undertone.

"Would that rookie be more talented than you, Tenzo?" asked Kakashi with a smirk on his face.

Yuki couldn't help but giggle at that comment. It has been a while she last heard Kakashi call that man Tenzo, and knowing the story behind it sure was funny.

"Senpai!" he said, taken aback. "I don't know how talented that kid is, but he is from the Hyuga clan. He was the kid who lost his dad in the Hyuga affair..."

Yuki's smile suddenly disappeared. After Itachi's actions against the Uchiha, Yuki has tried really hard to forget the event and the images associated with it. Although the Hyugas are not the same clan, the story of Hizashi Hyuga was just as painful to Yuki as Itachi's sacrifice. Yuki stood up and threw away her empty cup of tea. She waved a silent goodbye to Kakashi and the so-called Tenzo and headed to the Hokage's office.

* * *

 **S** he made it to the door of the Third's office. She knocked gently and waited for his signal to come in. As she walked in, he was bent over a huge pile of papers, reading each word carefully. She remained silent to let him finish whatever he was reading. She looked at him with a smile. He had grown old. His back was more hunched over than before, his wrinkles dug deep into his skin and his eyes weren't as clear as before. This man really looked like a grandfather now.

"I was expecting your visit today. It is the first of the month, after all."

Yuki nodded and handed him an envelope.

"Until when are you going to support Sasuke? Almost all your salary goes to him every month. He doesn't even know of your kindness."

"He... He asked me to take care of his little brother. I can't exactly do anything else at the moment. At the very least, I can ensure he has somewhat of a comfortable life."

The Hokage reluctantly took the envelope and sighed. Yuki did not say more and turned around and began walking towards the door. Before she could open the door, someone knocked on it. The Hokage allowed the person in. It was none other than Gai. He looked down at her as she couldn't help but stare at his thick eyebrows and ridiculous green get-up. He also seemed to think she was weird looking, after all, what little girl has such white hair.

"This is Yuki, my adopted grandchild."

She was about to leave until she heard a loud deep voice yell out:

"Nice to meet you Yuki!"

She was taken aback by his enthusiasm of meeting her. She gave him a small nod of acknowledgement and left. She didn't listen into the conversation that was about to happen. Her thoughts, however, started to wonder how his team would be lead by this man. It was her day off and she decided to go have a look at this team that many were talking about because of the presence of the Hyuga's prodigy.

* * *

 **T** racking down people was one of Yuki's specialty, not that everything else isn't as well. With only the remains of chakra that was on Gai, she could track down the three chakra that belonged to the three genins he was in charge. It lead to the forest behind the hills where she used to spend her days. Upon her arrival, she witnessed a boy with long dark hair send another that resembled Gai with his thick eyebrows flying across the area and hitting a tree without difficulty. _Training._ She thought. There was a girl at the scene as well who gasped at the fight that was happening. _It's obviously over. That Gai doppelganger probably won't be able to move for a bit._ She shook her head. That boy that sent him flying was gifted, there's no doubt about that. To her surprise, however, the boy that had fallen stood up and wiped off the dirt on his clothes and face:

"Not yet, Neji."

"Lee. Can't you see that you are destined to always lose? A ninja that cannot even use his chakra properly is bound to fail."

The boy, Lee, clenched his fists and charged towards the other boy with a loud scream. He was quickly avoided and tripped and landed face first into the ground. Without a drop of compassion or sympathy, the boy named Neji kicked him to turn him around onto his back and stepped on him. Lee was now bleeding from the fall.

"Neji, stop. Lee, stop picking a fight with him." yelled the girl in desperation.

"Not yet!" yelled Lee. He grabbed onto Neji's foot and tried to make his fall. It failed, unfortunately. Lee was, instead, thrown into the air and was about to land very badly onto a rock.

Yuki couldn't watch any longer. She jumped into the scene and softened the rocky ground with her earth jutsu. Lee landed on the ground without a sound. The other girl quickly rushed to his side to see if he was doing alright. Neji undid what seemed to be his byakugan. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"This is a waste of my time."

He turned away and began heading back in direction of the village.

"Not yet. I'm not done yet." murmured Lee.

"I think that's enough for today." said Yuki firmly as she made her way next to Lee as well. She began healing him. "I can only give you the very most basic first aid. You will have to go to the hospital later today for make sure there isn't any wounds left untreated."

He calmed down at her words. He thanked her under his breathe.

"You shouldn't meddle in others' business." said Neji from far away.

"You shouldn't be hurting someone from your village this badly." Yuki replied coldly.

"He asked for it." he said as he turned to look at her now.

"You obviously overdid it."

He smirked and turned his back to her.

"Don't blame Neji. I asked him to train with me. It's me who wasn't strong enough." said Lee as he was starting to feel a little better as a the pain lessened.

Yuki smiled at that comment. She had never met someone so positive before.

"I'm Lee, by the way."

"I'm Tenten." said the girl with a big smile. "You seem to be even younger than us, but I can tell you are quite skilled. Can I ask..."

"I'm Yuki. I'm not as good as you give me credit for."

Tenten giggled: "You talk like you are much much older."

Yuki scratched the back of her head and smiled in embarrassment. Now that she thought about it, it was probably because she was mostly around people much older than her. She had become an old soul. She looked around and noticed that Neji was now completely gone.

"He was..."

"Hyuga Neji, my eternal rival. One day, I will defeat him for sure. Sensei told me that with hard work anything would be possible." said Lee as he gave Yuki the biggest smile and a thumb up.

 _Eternal rival. I've heard that somewhere before. It was Gai who declared that Kakashi would be his eternal rival right? I guess that's one way of becoming stronger._ She thought to herself. Without the shadow of a doubt, this team has definitely caught her attention.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 6**

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this short chapter.

xoxox

Krystal


	8. Chapter 7: Face to Mask

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Face to Mask**

* * *

 **C** old November was once again falling upon Konoha. Yuki just came back from a mission and was about to go see the Hokage to give him Sasuke's monthly allowance once again. At this point, Yuki felt more comfortable with her ANBU mask on than without it. Often, she would wear it even when she didn't have a mission at hand. She would wander around the village in the shadows with her mask on. She came to enjoy to be an observer of the village, to watch over the village that her grandfather loved dearly. Today was no different. When she finally reached the Third's office, she knocked and the door simply opened. It seemed almost automatic now. She debriefed the Hokage about the mission and handed him the envelope for Sasuke. He dismissed her and she waved a silent goodbye before leaving and closing the door behind her.

She left the building to find herself going towards the Academy to check on Sasuke. They had never spoken before. In fact, Sasuke doesn't even know she was watching over him all this time. It was recess. The students were out in the yard playing with each other, pretending to be ninjas. Sasuke, on the other hand, was sitting by himself on a bench, staring into emptiness. Naruto was glaring at him from a distance while a bunch of girls, from a afar, were giggling at the sight of Sasuke. Yuki couldn't help but smirk a little at this sight. She didn't stay for much longer.

She made her way to the forest where she first met Lee and his teammates. They were always there. They were there again today, training. While Lee was bruised and beaten up, Neji still looked as though he hasn't started. Tenten also seemed roughened up.

"One more time, Neji!" yelled Lee as he once again charged forward towards Neji. "If I don't land this hit, I will run 200 lapses around the village!"

He had seemingly improved, but it still wasn't enough to land the punch on Neji.

"I'm a man of my word! I shall start running now!" yelled Lee, still full of enthusiasm.

Yuki smiled at that comment. He was indeed one of a kind. After all this time, he has never given up once and has been working hard to get to where he is now. He was obviously stronger. For some reason, that made Yuki feel very proud and happy.

"Oi, what is an ANBU doing here, watching us?" asked a deep voice seemingly bored.

"Ha, you caught me." said Yuki as she descended from the tree she was sitting in. She looked around and only Neji was left in the area. Lee had gone on his 200 lapses run and Tenten had returned home to freshen up.

"Why are you here?" he asked not even looking at her.

She didn't reply. She settled underneath another tree nearby and leaned against it. She looked up through the little slits in her ANBU mask to the sky where flocks of birds were migrating south. He too was looking at those birds.

"I asked you a question."

"Well, I don't know the answer to you question." she replied coldly.

"Why are you still here, then?"

"I like watching the sky from here."

"Isn't the same anywhere else?"

"No, it's always different."

"I don't think so."

Yuki didn't say anymore, nor did he. They just silently sat there for a while.

"You know. I once wished to be just like a bird: free to choose where I would go..."

"You are wrong." he said. "Birds aren't as free as they seem."

"Why do you say that?"

"Can't you see? They fly in a flock. They have to. When winter is about to come, they can only choose to go south. I shouldn't say choose, it's more like they must go south. Their lives have already been predetermined. They aren't free to fly where they want, they have to follow the rest and the rest have no choice but to go where they can ensure survival."

"Is that how you feel? Or is that what you think birds think?"

"I..."

"I think that if a bird wants to stray away from the flock, no other bird will come and force him to take the same path as them. If they stray, they stray... someone will just fill in their position. Therefore if a bird wants to break free, it can. Perhaps, they head south because they want to. Perhaps they stay with their flock because that's their family and there's no better place to go to."

"Is that what you came to conclude after wanting to be a bird?"

"Perhaps."

Neji chuckled. "Don't you feel like a caged bird here, within the village?"

Yuki shook her head. "This is home."

"A cage is a home too."

"I have ways to escape within this cage then. Like now. Am I not free of all things?"

He chuckled again.

"We talk like old people." he said.

His face when smiling was bright, brighter than she has seen his face before. He had a very gentle smile and kind eyes when he wasn't upset about his fate.

"We do." said Yuki as she stood up. She wiped off the dirt on her dress and stretched. She was about to leave when he called upon her again:

"You still haven't answered my first question."

"Why is an ANBU here watching you? I told you, I don't know."

"You're telling me you come here almost everyday since we first met and you don't know why?"

He recognized her. He recognized her despite her mask. He continued on:

"You really like to meddle in others' business, don't you?"

"Ha, it became a habit since I work for the village. I used to stay away from everyone, now I can't seem to do so. Especially, when someone is bullying another member of the village so badly." she said in a teasing sound.

"Bully? He seems to come ask for it everyday."

"But you don't have to be so mean whenever you defeat him. He's gotten a lot stronger. You should... I don't know... compliment him from time to time."

"Why? Why give him false hope when we all know he cannot amount to much with his ability to only use taijutsu?"

"If one can't simply change his fate, then why are you training to better yourself? You'll always _just_ be a member of the branch family of the Hyuga."

"You..."

Yuki gave him a silent wave of goodbye as she turned her back to him and began walking back to the village. She could feel that her question and last comment deeply affected him. It was, after all, the root of his problems. Yuki also believed that the village was a cage, but she, unlike him, had the will to break free. To be exact, she has given some thoughts about the liberty that she had within the village while he only thought about how the clan and the village has trapped him and his father. It was a knot that couldn't be undone easily. Yuki knew that very well. After all, she did lose a friend to the same situation: Uchiha Itachi.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 7**

* * *

Cheers to the start of the relationship between Yuki & Neji.

Thank you for reading.

xoxox

Krystal


	9. Chapter 8: The Rookies

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 8: The Rookies**

* * *

 **O** ver the past year, Yuki made it a habit to always be around Team Gai. She would go on her missions, they would complete theirs and, when it worked out, they would all be together in the forest. She saw how each of them improved, especially Lee. He worked the hardest and never gave up even when he would fall hard. He was a fighter. Tenten also improved. She was now one of the finest weapon user in the village, according to Yuki. Neji has also improved greatly, but he still did not believe that his work was worth anything. Yuki was amused by this team. They were special. They held a special place in her heart to her own surprise. At first, she was only curious about Neji as his father was the village's sacrifice for peace, but she grew to like them. She was even now able to show her face around them instead of hiding behind a mask. She was able to smile and laugh with them. Well, it was mostly with Gai, Tenten and Lee. Neji was as serious as ever. Since their talk in November, their relationship has been very formal: a greeting here and there, some acknowledgements from time to time.

"Neji, I heard you younger cousin, Hinata, has graduated from the Academy." said Gai. "Her sensei will be Kurenai."

Neji grabbed all his things and did not give any answering sign to Gai.

"I'm heading home." he said monotonously. He quickly vanished from the forest in direction of the village.

"She's from the main family, isn't she?" Yuki asked as she jumped down from the tree she was relaxing in.

Gai nodded as he was still looking in the direction where Neji headed. He too, despite his forgetful and sometimes careless personality, knew that Neji held deep grudges against the main Hyuga family. After all, his father left him when he was so young to protect those members of the family.

"Have you heard of cursed seals, Yuki?" asked Gai as he started packing his things up.

"I've read a bit about them, but I'm not familiar with them all that much. Why do you ask?"

"Neji holds one on his forehead."

"And you think that's why he can never forgive the main family?" asked Yuki.

He nodded. He was perhaps right. Neji, with that cursed seal, is reminded everyday of his fate: protect the main family if not death is upon you. _Cursed seals, eh? Such a disgusting thing. Shouldn't we protect something because we hold it dear to our heart?_

"By the way, " started Gai. "Have you heard? Kakashi is leading his own genin team. The Fourth's kid and Itachi's brother are in that team. It's going to be an interesting one. They are meeting tomorrow if you want to do a little recognition mission."

"Haha, I will."

* * *

 **T** he moon was still shining bright in the night sky. Yuki just finished a patrolling mission. She was back to the ANBUs' headquarter. As she headed towards her locker room, she saw Kakashi walking down the hallway.

"Senpai!" she called out.

"Oh, Yuki. Done for tonight?"

She nodded and asked:

"I heard you were leaving the ANBU squads now."

"Yes. I've been assigned to guide a team of genins. Sasuke is in there. So is Naruto."

"I've heard. Are you going to make them go through the bell test?"

He nodded as he pulled the two infamous bells out. He looked at them with sad eyes.

"I wonder if they will pass..." he said softly.

"Do you mind if I observe tomorrow?"

"I'm just meeting them tomorrow. I won't make them go through the test just yet." he said.

"Still, I want to see how they are."

"Be my guest."

Yuki smiled. Kakashi looked slightly surprised. He hadn't seen her in a while and her expressions were much softer now. There was a warmth exuding from her that wasn't present before. He smiled back.

"I'll probably be late, so do come early to spy on them if you want. After all, being incognito is you forte." he said as he waved goodbye to her.

She nodded and opened the door to her locker room. She took off her mask, undid her tight ponytail and shook her head so that her hair could loosen up a little bit. She looked at herself in the mirror. Not that long ago, when she saw the Hokage, she thought of how old he had now become. She now can notice that she has also changed. She was now older. Her eyes, always just as bright, were softer looking. Her skin was now a little tanner than it used to be. Her cheeks were not as full and plump as before. She had thinned down quite a bit. It was from all those restless nights and rough missions. She was still just as beautiful as ever. She chuckled a little bit at those thoughts. _Time to hit the bed._

* * *

 **"I** ruka-sensei! Why is a genius like me in the same team as Sasuke?" yelled a loud high-pitched voice.

Yuki was looking into Sasuke's classroom via a hole in the wall. That voice was none other than Naruto's. _Of course, they would be in the same team. It is for the best. If anyone can control Naruto, it would certainly be Sasuke. And if anyone could change Sasuke's dark aura, it would most certainly be Naruto._ She thought to herself while she amused herself with the chaos that was in the classroom as the teams were announced.

"Next, team 8 will be Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata."

Yuki shifted her eye from Sasuke to that person that was called Hinata. That was Neji's younger cousin that they were talking about the other day. She seemed sweet, a little shy and lacking of confidence. She didn't seem like the type of person that Neji would normally resent, but obviously their feud took roots way deeper than appearances. After all, a death was involved in all this. Another person in that group caught Yuki's attention: Shino. She met him before, a long time ago, on a rainy day. Although the encounter they had did not last for a long time, it left a strong impression on her. He was one of the only person whose presence she could not sense. He, in a way, sneaked up on her. He seemed as quiet as before, as calm...

"Finally, we have team 9: Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Choji."

The girl of the group seemed annoyed of the fact that those two were going to be her teammates. Meanwhile, Shikamaru seemed bored and couldn't care less. _His expressions haven't changed at all. Those eyes definitely tell me that he doesn't want to be here. His eyes are not even looking at the front of the class but rather at the sky. He did always love the sky and its clouds._

The break finally came and they all began clearing the classroom. Kakashi, indeed, didn't come yet. Yuki began walking around the Academy. She did not have much memories here. She barely spent anytime at the Academy and if she was present, her mind was somewhere else. She headed to the rooftop where she spent most of her time if she was present. When she got there, there was already two people standing by edge. One of them was a woman. She was quite beautiful. The other was smoking and gazing off into the distance. They looked about the same age as Kakashi, not that she could really tell how old Kakashi was with his mask on. She could only assume that they were soon to be the senseis of one of the team she saw today.

"You are about to lead the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho. How do you feel, Asuma?"

"I don't know. I will know when I see them. I heard from Shikaku that his son doesn't seem to have any motivation or ambition. I wonder if that will hinder him in anyway."

Yuki couldn't help but chuckle a little bit startling the two jounins. They did not sense her presence at all. She, now, concealed her presence automatically even when it isn't needed. When they saw her, they smiled and gave her sign to join them.

"You are Yuki, right?" asked Asuma as he threw away his cigarette. "The Hokage's adopted granddaughter?"

She nodded as she came closer to them.

"That's the girl you talked to me about, Asuma?" asked the woman with a kind smile. She turned towards Yuki and asked: "You are the infamous kid who became an ANBU without actually going through the Academy and the training needed. right? I'm surprised you are here today."

"I was curious about this year's rookies." she replied.

"It is indeed an interesting year." said Asuma as he looked to the sky again. "You laughed when I spoke about Shikamaru. I assume you know him?"

"I wouldn't say that I _know_ him. That would be a bit of a stretch, but I've met him briefly before and what you said about his lack of ambition is quite true, yet false at the same time."

"Why would you say that?" asked Asuma.

"He, indeed, couldn't care less about his rank and how good of a ninja he might become, but I can sense a strong willpower from him to protect this village. He might say the contrary, but he loves this village." Yuki replied as she also began looking at the sky. "I think he likes seeing the sky the most when in the village. It looks the best to him when he's home."

"I've long heard about how wise you are for your age. I got the chance to witness it first hand today." said the woman softly.

Yuki couldn't help but blush a little. The bell rang to announce the end of the break.

"I'll let you two get going, I'm going to go find Kakashi. He is going to be late to meet his team if he still doesn't show up." Yuki quickly said as she disappeared in a whirlwind of snow.

* * *

 **I** f there was one place you could be sure to find Kakashi, it would be where the stone in memory of those who were killed in action stood tall. He was indeed there. Yuki approached him in light steps. He had his eyes closed, his fists clenched and he was obviously reliving each of those painful memories, yet again. When she got close enough, gently, she tapped him on the shoulder and said:

"I think it's time for you to meet your team."

He nodded and opened his eyes slowly.

"How are they?"

"I think their personalities are pretty obvious from the get-go. You will see."

"I have an idea. The Third took me to their places."

Yuki smiled. It was in an ANBU's nature to get an impression of one by how they live. Naruto's place was probably messy but showed warmth. Sasuke's place was probably neat, but cold and lonely.

They both made their way to the Academy and walked up the stairs that lead to the classroom where they were all waiting. They were already half an hour late. Instead of opening the door to the classroom where they would be, Kakashi went into the classroom where Yuki, earlier, was using to spy on them. There was only Naruto's team left in there.

"Where is he?" she heard Naruto ask impatiently. And then she heard him giggling.

"Naruto!" she heard a female voice yell out. "Sensei wouldn't fall for such a dumb prank."

Kakashi sighed: "Time to go meet them now. Wish me luck."

"Good luck."

"Oh, join me later on on the rooftop to meet them."

"I'll be somewhere nearby to listen in."

He smiled and left for the other classroom. Yuki headed out to where Kakashi told her to meet him. These rookies were bound to very interesting, after all, they all are interesting characters.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 8**

* * *

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.

xoxox

Krystal


	10. Chapter 9: The Bet

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 9: The Bet**

* * *

 **S** he was just sitting by the edge, under the balcony where Kakashi was meeting his new students. They were surprisingly quiet as, she knew, Kakashi were examining each of them.

"Why don't we start with introductions? You know, so we can get to know each other better?" asked Kakashi monotonously.

"Introductions?" asked the female kunoichi. "Can you give us an example, sensei?"

"Let's see." began Kakashi with the same tone. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. Things that I like... Things that I dislike... My dream... I don't feel like telling you guys. Your turn."

 _Typical Kakashi_. Yuki thought to herself as she smiled. He has always been such a mysterious character. Even though she's known him for over 5 years now, she still doesn't really know much about him. He tended to keep everything to himself. He never said much, he never showed much. Yuki never bothered asking either. It was an ANBU thing to be so secretive.

"Let me start! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, but even more than cup ramens, I love Ichiraku's ramen... Especially when Iruka-sensei treats me to it. I dislike..." he stopped.

He was glaring at Sasuke who glared back at him from the corner of his eyes. He continued on:

"My dream is to become the Hokage!"

At that statement, Yuki couldn't help but smile. Naruto was indeed an interesting character. He somehow overcame the loneliness and hate that the villagers shun upon him. Despite the hate received, he was able turn it into love, love for this village. Even though he is known to be the worst in class, to Yuki, he was an outstanding person, one who was bound to become stronger than any other ninjas in this village. She is often praised for her talent, but she believed it was nothing compared to Naruto's strength and ability to turn hate into love.

"Alright, Naruto. Next." said Kakashi.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like, I mean love..." The female started to squeal. "I dislike Naruto. My dream is..." Another squeal could be heard.

"Next." said Kakashi with an unchanging tone.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There aren't many things that I like. There are many things I hate. My dream... I wouldn't call it so. It would be more of ambition. That is to kill a certain man."

Yuki suddenly felt a stab into her heart. If she didn't guess it wrong, it was Itachi. Her smile turned into a frown. Unlike Naruto, Sasuke isn't coping well with loneliness. He has isolated himself even more rather than trying form bonds with others. It pained her to see him acting so. She began to question her decision of not getting involved with him and being a emotional support for him. However, when it all happened, she, herself, wasn't emotionally stable. She missed Itachi. He was almost like family to her.

"Alright, I've heard what you all had to say. You might think you all are ninjas already, but there's much you guys still need to learn. I'll meet you at the training rounds tomorrow morning at 5AM. Oh, and don't eat breakfast, you might throw it up if not. See ya!" said Kakashi as he transported himself elsewhere.

As he was gone, Yuki could sense the fear coming from the new genins. She heard them swallowing their saliva while, perhaps, a drop of sweat might have hit the ground. Fear was understandable. Although they won't get hurt all that much during this process, Kakashi isn't one to go easy on them either. He might not have a go at it seriously, but it doesn't mean he'll just fool around. He was right about them still having much to learn. Fear and the anticipation of something that could turn out to be bad are also things that they must experience. Yuki sighed at those thoughts. She also left the premises shortly after Kakashi disappeared.

* * *

 **I** t was the night before the genins of team 7 were to meet Kakashi. Sticking to her habit of never revealing herself, Yuki decided to check on each of them. She first stopped at the female ninja's place. Her place was neat, but messy at the same time. There was clothes on her bed and some on her chair. Her bed was, however, made and her books on the desk was neatly placed in order. Her room looked like a typical teenager's bedroom. There was nothing special about this place. Her forehead protector was neatly placed on her desk. Although she seemed more interested in Sasuke according to her answer earlier in the day when talking abut her likes and dreams, she obviously cared a lot about being a ninja. With that alone, Yuki could tell that she would eventually become a great ninja. From outside her house, Yuki could hear an older female voice ask:

"Sakura, aren't you going to have dinner?"

"No. I'm currently on a diet. I'm going to hit the bed early. I have to be out bright and early tomorrow morning."

 _This one is bound to starve tomorrow morning. She probably won't have breakfast tomorrow either as Kakashi recommended._ Yuki thought to herself. She left to go check on Naruto.

It wasn't the first time she was going to Naruto's place. She was always curious about how he was doing. Many times, she wanted to go up to him and talk to him, but didn't know how to approach him and what to say to him. There was light coming from his window. He was probably already home. It was unusual for him to be home so early. He usually wandered around the village until much later. Yuki walked up the stairs to his place. There was no need, or so she believed, to sneakily approach his place. The stairs led to his place only. He lived on the highest floor, isolated from everybody else. As she was walking, she heard footsteps behind her and a voice called her out:

"Oi, who are you? Why are you going to my place?"

It was Naruto. He probably forgot to turn off the lights at his place earlier this morning. She did not reply to his questions.

"Do I know you? You seem vaguely familiar..." he said.

"We've briefly met before." Yuki said as she turned around and smiled.

"You are smiling." he said as he looked away.

Yuki nodded. "Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"Yeah. I'm not used to people smiling when talking to me. Only Iruka-sensei does that from time to time when he is not scolding me."

"I see." Yuki said softly. "Do you mind inviting me to your place? We are somewhat old friends after all."

"Huh? Wait, I can't even remember... AAAHH! We went for ramen together once, right? You were tiny back then!"

"So were you."

"We are old friends after all!" he said cheerfully as he opened the door for Yuki to come in.

Yuki was about to remove her shoes but Naruto stopped her:

"I wouldn't remove your shoes if I were you..."

"Why..."

"My place is a little dirty..."

Yuki looked in and saw that there were things everywhere on the ground and a pungent odor suddenly hit her nose. Although Yuki was just as young as Naruto, her place was spotless. Everything was in place and everything was perfectly clean.

"Do you want to go to Ichiraku ramen instead? My treat?" asked Yuki as she slowly backed away from Naruto's door.

"You offered!" he yelled as he rushed out his place and closed the door.

As he led the way, Yuki looked at his back. He was walking more confidently. He was able to, more than ever, to hold his head up high. They didn't talk much as they ate. Yuki silently slurped her noodles while Naruto kept asking for seconds and extra toppings. When they finished, he thanked her and said:

"Once I start making some money as a ninja, I will treat you, old friend."

Yuki nodded and smiled as she waved goodbye to him.

* * *

Yuki decided to head back to her place. She did not bother visiting Sasuke. For some reason, after meeting Naruto, she felt at ease about Sasuke. Sasuke was someone who needed a friend, one that is warmer than the sun. Naruto had that warmth exuding from him.

"Back from your investigation?"

"Senpai, have you been waiting here for long?"

"Not really. So, what do think of these kids?"

"They are pretty interesting."

"Do you think they'll be able to pass the test tomorrow?"

"What do you think?"

"No." he replied firmly as he sighed. "They are three very self-centered individuals."

"Let's bet on it."

He looked at Yuki with a face that had an obvious question mark drawn on it.

"I bet you'll let them pass the test tomorrow." she said confidently. "I'm usually right with my bets."

"You know that in order to win that bet I can purposely make them fail." he said with a smirk.

She laughed.

"Talking about bets, I'll be away for a while to bring news of the village to her. I guess I'll have to wait until I get back to hear about the results."

"Don't spend too much time with her or her bad habits will get passed on to you. You've already started betting..."

Yuki smiled and raised her shoulders as she went into her apartment. As she pulled her blanket up to her neck, she already started wondering what she would ask of Kakashi once the results of her winning the bet came out.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 9**

* * *

Happy New Year!

Thank you for reading!

xoxox

Krystal


	11. Chapter 10: The Blurred, The Cannots

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 10: The Blurred, the Cannots**

* * *

 **T** he person that Yuki had to find every now and then wasn't one that was easy to find. She travels a lot and doesn't leave much traces behind. She was an adept of changing her appearances. She was famous, but unknown to most. She was noticeable, but doesn't try to attract to much attention to herself. When Yuki first met this person, she had just joined the ANBU. The encounter was brief, but long enough for her to be the trusted one to deliver information from then on to that person. That person seemed to not care about the village. However, after many talks, Yuki realized that that woman cared more about the village than any other women she had met. Yuki, very much, respected that person. She was a mentor to Yuki, an older sister in a sense as well. Their ages were very different, but Yuki's maturity and that person's youth brought them closer.

As Yuki went from place to the other, she couldn't help but think about Kakashi's team of genins. Three days had already passed since she placed that bet against Kakashi. _By now, they must be doing some D-rank mission together._ Yuki was confident that she had won that bet. Talking about bet, Yuki entered a well-known gambling village. While gambling was often looked down upon in other places, this village promoted gambling. It was part of an everyday routine. It was the day. The village wasn't too noisy as most people went out during the night. It was the perfect time for Yuki to gather information about that woman's whereabouts. Most of them answered that they haven't seen a woman that corresponded to Yuki's description. Always polite, Yuki thanked each of them. Every time Yuki had to go look for that woman, it would take her at least two weeks. She couldn't track her down with scents, because she would reek alcohol by night and coins by day. The alcohol scent also changed depending on where she was. Alcohol from different villages smell differently. Alcohol can also mask all body normal scent. Furthermore, no matter how talented Yuki was, she could only cover a small area with a smell detection. Her summoning animal was a rabbit. Although rabbits have excellent sense of smell, it was also very limited in terms of distance. They aren't usually train for such activity. Their best sense was after all the sense of hearing. The best question to ask, therefore is:

"Have you met 2 women recently who, most likely, lost a lot of money while gambling here?"

"Why do you ask that, little girl?"

"I need to find them..."

"I did. About 5 days ago? Or was it 3?"

The man she asked the question to seemed confused. His face was flushed by a great intake of alcohol, most likely.

"Anyway, yeah I did. They headed towards the Land of the Waves to get some money to pay us back. Apparently, they have a secret account filled with money there."

"Thank you!" Yuki said quickly before heading off in the direction that he indicated. If it was the Land of Waves, Yuki knew exactly where she would be. There's a person in that land that is indebted to the woman. Despite all her bad qualities and habits, she was a great person at heart. She saved may lives and his was one of those saved lives. That woman also would often seek refuge at his place when she was running away from debt collectors. The search this time was apparently much easier than the others. However, Yuki would have to rush as she moved around very quickly as well. She was already a few days ahead of Yuki.

* * *

 **I** t was now 6 days since Yuki last saw Konoha. Whenever she was on missions that brought her far from the village, she would get some sentiments that resembled homesickness. Throughout the years, Yuki has certainly developed great feelings for the village. Great didn't always mean good. Sometimes, there were bad feelings that emerged as well. For example, she had some resentment towards the village due to the sacrifice that Itachi had to make. There was great pain whenever she thought of Sasuke or Neji. On the other hand, there was great happiness when she thought about how Naruto has become much stronger. There was great love when thought of her adopted grandfather. The balance between happy thoughts and unhappy thoughts when thinking of the village hasn't shifted to one side yet. They are somewhat in perfect balance. Yuki wished there was more happy thoughts though.

Upon arrival in the Land of Waves, the mist was thick and there was a fine rain falling. The weather wasn't too cold, but enough to give one the chills. Yuki was never affected by the cold though. After all, she was born and lived a midst the cold snow. The place where that woman could be found wasn't much further. Yuki quickened her steps in order to make sure she wouldn't miss that person. The speed at which she was going hindered her view. The thick mist never cleared as though someone had put it in place with somekind of jutsu. The rain, though normally gentle, was hitting her face quite roughly. She started to strain her eyes. Her eyesight then began to deteriorate. Headaches usually followed. It wasn't the first time this was happening. As her vision got blurrier and blurrier, so did her depth perception. She tripped on a small root that came out of the ground. At the speed she was going, the fall had quite a strong impact and Yuki ended up a few meters from where she had tripped.

"You really should be more careful." said a very familiar female voice.

"I caught up..." said Yuki weakly as she brushed off the dust and slowly stood up.

"I figured it was about time we met up. It's been 3 months since we last saw each other, now?"

Yuki nodded. The woman's face was still blurry to her even though they were only half a meter away from each other.

"Are you hurt?" asked that woman as she got closer.

Yuki shook her head as a small green hue surrounded her whole body.

"You've improved greatly with your medical ninjutsu." said that woman with a smile.

"All the credits goes to you..." Yuki said as she continuously blinked to clear up her vision.

"Your eyes are still foggy?"

Yuki nodded.

"It's the after effect of when you are using it after you suppress it for so long."

"It just activates by itself. It's harder and harder to suppress it now."

"Many consider it a blessing."

"I think it's a curse. It has caused so many deaths..."

Yuki closed her eyes and began massaging her lids. Her eyes were still very blurred and the headaches were getting pretty bad.

"Come on inside. I'll help you relieve the pain..." she said and then hesitated. "... or Shizune will."

"You still won't perform medical ninjutsu?" Yuki asked as she followed the woman inside.

"It's not that I won't... I just can't."

"That's why you understand me better than anybody else." Yuki said as she pointed to her eyes. "I can't use these..."

"They bring back bad memories, don't they?"

* * *

 **End of Chapter 10**

* * *

And we've reached 1000 views!

Thank you for the support and love! Thank you for reading this story!

xoxox

Krystal


	12. Chapter 11: An ANBU's mask

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 11: An ANBU's mask**

* * *

 **R** ecovered from her terrible sight loss and painful headaches, Yuki was ready to head back to the Hidden Leaf Village. She found the person she was looking for, gave her the information that she needed to give and was feeling much better now. As she was packing her things, the woman entered her room and asked:

"Are you sure you are good to return to the village?"

"I wish I could stay longer, but it is about time I return now. They are always short on staff and I've been away for too long."

"You talk like you are an adult. You are almost boring. Being so young, you should enjoy life a little more." the woman said as she yawned.

"Tsunade-sama..." started Yuki. "I will start enjoying life when I'll get to your age."

Tsunade frowned: "I'm really not that old, you know?"

Yuki smiled. She liked teasing her mentor. They've always had a great relationship. They would joke around with each other. Yuki felt at ease around Tsunade and so did Tsunade. As they were talking and saying there goodbyes, Yuki heard a hawk messenger tapping on the window. On its back, there was the Fire Country emblem.

"It seems you have a new mission already. I really don't miss those." said Tsunade as she opened the window, grabbed the message and handed it to Yuki.

"Trouble in the Land of Waves... Kakashi's team sent, but has asked for backup. The details are not known... has something to do with Gato. Your most recent report showed that you were in close proximity, here are the coordinates..." quickly read Yuki. "Well, I guess I won the bet against Kakashi seeing his team is out completing a mission."

"A bet?" asked Tsunade with interest. "Ha, I taught you well."

Yuki buckled her backpack and waved a silent goodbye to Tsunade before heading out the window by which she got the message from.

* * *

 **T** he location that was indicated to her wasn't too far away. It was a small village, known to be quite poor. Gato was a rich business man who had no ethics whatsoever. He was ruthless when it came to making money. He was notorious for it. He was also notorious for being able to hide his tracks after bad deeds were done. He often hired some of the most dangerous and talented ninjas. He nurtured many missing-nins. Kakashi, as strong as he was, had to fight those potentially highly skilled ninjas and protect his three new genins who, obviously, did not have much experience in fighting. There was also a client to protect as well. At those thoughts, Yuki increased her speed to join with Kakashi's team. She passed the path that they would need to take in order to make it to the village. It was the best way to allow herself to follow them. She had no intention in letting them know of her presence until it is absolutely necessary. As she got closer, she took out her ANBU mask as a precaution to hide her identity. The mask now allowed her to stay unaffected emotionally in any kind of situation. For some reason, she feared that this mission would make her feel fear, pain and sadness. She did not want to allow such emotions to appear.

She was now entering the area just before Team 7 would have to take a boat to get to the village. A dense mist was covering the area. She couldn't see well through the mist. It wasn't a normal kind of mist. There was no doubt about it. The mist came from a jutsu. There was chakra flowing in that mist. Yuki had always been sensitive to different chakras. Although she wasn't specialized in sensory, she was definitely not bad at it. Although the mist made it much harder, she could definitely sense 6 different chakras; four from Team Kakashi, one chakra was filled with murderous intent, one calm but cold chakra and one from someone who isn't a ninja. She clearly recognized Kakashi's chakra. They did, after all, work together for many years. He wasn't molding any chakra nor moving much. Meanwhile, the murderous chakra's owner had split his in half. One body of chakra was static and the other was in battle with two other chakras' owner: Naruto and Sasuke.

Yuki could have jumped in to help the two boys, but she decided not to. Instead, she was more curious about that other unknown chakra filled with calmness and coldness. She moved to a higher place, on a branch where the mist was a little thinner. She could now see the shadows of Kakashi's team fighting against a much bigger shadow. As the mist cleared a little further, she could identify that shadow to be the one of Zabuza, a missing-nin from the Hidden Mist Village. He was in her Bingo Book, a book that contained all the names and information of people wanted dead or alive. As much as Yuki was interested in the fight that was happening below, she was most curious about that unidentified chakra's owner. She moved around, suppressing her chakra as much as possible, trying to find that person. A little further away, she spotted a person, also observing the battle and wearing an ANBU mask with the Hidden Mist logo on it. That person was not much taller than her. He was definitely around her age. He didn't seem to have noticed her. He didn't seem to want to take action either even though his target was, most likely, Zabuza. As Yuki was observing that person, she heard a loud water splash. She could also sense an increase in Kakashi's chakra. He was back in the fight. She continued looking at the inactive ANBU. Suddenly, she saw him move towards the battlefield. He threw out a long needle towards Zabuza and knocked him out completely. Zabuza collapsed on the ground lifelessly. He interacted quickly with Kakashi before taking Zabuza's body away. It was an unusual action for an ANBU. Had it been Yuki, she would have destroyed the body right there. She was about to investigate further, but she then saw Kakashi collapse. He had exhausted his chakra by overusing his Sharingan. There was no medical ninja in his team. His team members were also exhausted from the fight against Zabuza. Sakura managed to catch him from his fall, but she was in no state to take him all the way to the village. Yuki had no choice but to intervene.

"Let me have a look at him." she said as she descended from the tree she was hiding in.

"Who are you?" asked Sakura shielding her sensei away from Yuki.

"Can't you see?" Yuki asked as she pointed to the Konoha emblem on her mask.

Sakura didn't answer back. She still had a look of suspicion on her face.

"Kakashi, can't you let them know that I'm a friend and not a foe?" asked Yuki slightly annoyed.

He grinned weakly and nodded. Sakura let her guard down and allowed Yuki to approach Kakashi. Yuki quickly assessed Kakashi's state, helped him increase his chakra flow enough to keep him conscious and said:

"Good news is that you are not injured. Bad news is that you've completely drained yourself and won't be able to move around easily for the next few days."

"Good news is also that, I assume, you'll stick around to watch over them?"

Yuki nodded.

"Should I introduce you or would you prefer to do it yourself?"

Yuki stood up from beside Kakashi and turned to the three young genins.

"I will be standing in for Kakashi for the next few days until he gets better. You'll address to me as Captain. Don't ask any questions about who I am. I won't answer to those. Don't ask me where I am going, I won't answer to those either. I'm also not familiar with working with genins, so bear with me if I treat you harshly."

They looked at her with a confused and stunned look.

"You are even worst than me." said Kakashi. "Any kind words for them?"

"Sure... I'm otherwise very easy to work with and I will ensure your safety. Alright, no questions? Let's head to your client's home now."

Sakura and Sasuke helped support Kakashi as he was too weak to walk by himself. Yuki walked alongside the client with Naruto to get the details about what has been happening.

"That's a Leaf ANBU, right Kakashi-sensei?" Yuki heard Sakura whispering to her sensei.

"Yes."

"She's a little..."

"Cold? Unapprochable? Intimidating?" asked Kakashi.

"Uh huh. A little."

"Just talk to her like a friend, she's your age after all."

"She's..." started Sasuke as he stared at her back.

"Yeah. She's just a kid like you, same with that Mist ANBU we met earlier... Speaking of which..."

"It was weird, wasn't it?" interrupted Yuki before he could call her name out. There was a reason for her to keep her mask on and Kakashi was about to reveal her identity. "Shouldn't he just get rid of the body right there? Why did he take Zabuza's body away?"

"You thought so too, eh?"

"Once we've reached Tazuna-san's house, I will investigate on that. I'll leave one of my clones here with your team in case something happens."

"Sounds perfect."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 11**

* * *

Thank you for reading!

xoxox

Krystal


	13. Chapter 12: Children of the Snow

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Children of the Snow**

* * *

 **I** t's been three days now since Kakashi was incapacitated after overusing his Sharingan. Yuki, or, to be exact, her clone, has been watching over Team 7, although, most of the time, they were out training by themselves as instructed by Kakashi. Yuki's clone was also responsible of ensuring their client's safety while he was completing the bridge. It spent most of her day on the construction site gazing at the sky. At night, the real Yuki would return and check on Kakashi, make sure he was recovering well and discussed the current situation with him.

"I haven't found anything yet, but the more I think about it, the more suspicious I get about that Mist ANBU." said Yuki as she examined Kakashi's eye.

"Same. He didn't follow the normal ANBU's procedures nor did he look the part. From what I know, the Hidden Mist doesn't usually let ANBUs work on their own, let alone such a young ANBU."

Yuki nodded: "I think you'll be able to move around starting tomorrow. You should be able to take over tomorrow. I'll try to gather more information about Gato and, possibly, that Mist ANBU, if I can trust my intuition. It'll be easier on me than to have my chakra split in half to do the search. Clones are really not my specialty."

Kakashi sighed. He didn't mind getting some more rest, but this was no time for relaxing. He closed his eyes as a sign that he wanted to sleep and that he needed that sleep if she was going to force him to work tomorrow morning. Yuki stood up and left the room silently.

Not that she had diagnosed insomnia, but Yuki could never fall asleep when something was bothering her nor did she need a lot of sleep either. Her missions have led her to require very little amount of resting time. Knowing that Kakashi would take over tomorrow, Yuki decided to head out starting tonight to find out more about this infamous Gato, and perhaps some of the ninjas he might have hired to hinder the construction of the bridge.

As she was putting her shoes on, she saw Naruto and Sasuke heading back from the forest from their training. They were panting as they reached the entrance to the house. They were covered in dirt, there were leaves in their hair, their clothes were torn here and there and they were bruised and scratched by branches and falls. Yuki's first reaction was to touch her face to ensure her mask was on. For a second, she was frightened by the idea that her face was revealed. The mask was there. She then sighed at the two boys' appearance. She gave them sign to sit next to her. Naruto immediately obeyed. Sasuke seemed reluctant to come closer.

"Let me just heal your wounds before you head to bed."

"Thanks!" said Naruto cheerfully.

Sasuke did not say anything and just sat down. In the past few days, he and Yuki did not speak much to each other. Yuki began healing Naruto's wounds.

"How far into your training are you?" she asked. They were training tree climbing without using hands. The purpose was so that they would have better chakra control. From there bruises, Yuki could tell that they fell from quite high.

"It's coming along! We almost reached the top, didn't we, Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't answer. He just smirked. It wasn't a smirk that showed confidence, but rather one that showed anger.

"That's good. It's not easy to learn about chakra control." said Yuki as she gave one last look to Naruto's wounds. They healed very fast. Yuki wasn't surprised by it, after all, Naruto was special. "Your turn, Sasuke."

Naruto stood up so that Yuki could tend to Sasuke's bruises. They were just as bad as Naruto's.

"Oh, by the way, Kakashi will be able to supervise you starting tomorrow. I'll take my leave tonight." Yuki said as she began her healing process.

"You are not sticking around?" asked Naruto.

"I'll be around, investigating, but we might not see each other. I mean, my mission was only to lend you guys some support. Nothing more. We don't exactly have the same mission." replied Yuki without looking at Naruto. She was solely focused on Sasuke's wounds.

"But if we are in trouble, then you'll help?" asked Naruto.

"I guess that would be part of my responsibilities."

"Are all ANBUs just this cold?" asked Sasuke to Yuki's surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean all the ANBUs I've known so far are cold-hearted souls with no other words coming out from their mouths but responsibility, mission... Is that all that matters?"

"Are you talking about Itachi right now, or about me?" said Yuki angrily. "Because if you are badmouthing..."

She stopped herself before she said anymore. It wasn't her place to provide explanation to Sasuke. She sighed to release her anger. She saw Sasuke's eyes filled with anger as he heard his older brother's name. She bit her lip and said:

"Yeah, I'm a cold and soulless person who will put my mission above all and for whose sake's? For pathe... I mean for the people who cannot fend themselves. I don't mind killing if that's necessary. And yes, that's what an ANBU is. You are all fixed up now. I'll see you guys if needed."

She left in a whirlwind of snow. She was frustrated, disappointed, flustered. She never felt like that before. Yuki was definitely not ready to see them any time soon again.

* * *

 **I** t's only been a few hours since she left Team 7. Part of her was worried and uneasy because of the way she left and the possible danger that could be lurking around them. On the other hand, she felt somewhat relieved as she once again had her freedom back. As her thoughts were still on Team 7, she entered a part of the forest that was clearer. The foliage wasn't as dense. There were glimpses of the sun that pierced through the thick clouds. As she crossed that forest, she spotted a shadow that strongly resembled the figure of that boy she had seen a few days ago. He was picking herbs. From the scent, Yuki could tell that those herbs were medicinal. They would help with blood circulation and pain relief. It would, strangely, correspond with the symptoms that Zabuza would have if he did not pass away from that needle that was thrown by that mysterious boy.

Yuki approached the boy steathily in hopes of being able to follow him to, perhaps, his hideout.

"Come out from where you are hiding. I know you are there." the boy said with a gentle voice.

Yuki bit down on her lip. He sensed her presence despite her quite great ability to mask her presence. That would mean that he knew she was present earlier that week during the fight between Zabuza and Kakashi. She stepped away from the tree she used to hide herself. As she walked towards him, he turned around with a smile on his face. His face was quite feminine. He had gentle traits. His smile exuded warmth and kindness. Looking at him like this, he didn't look like a ninja at all.

"I see you are still wearing your ANBU mask."

"And I see you are not quite the ANBU I expected to see behind the mask... that is if you are really an ANBU." replied Yuki.

"I'm off duty today."

"I believe you, but I don't think we are talking about the same duty right now." said Yuki as she was more and more certain that the boy didn't work for the Hidden Mist Village, but rather, perhaps, Gato.

"You don't think I act like an ANBU, is that right?" he asked her.

"Yeah..."

"You don't either. Any other ANBU would have killed me already if they doubted my identity."

"I don't like killing unless it's necessary."

"I believe so to. We actually are quite similar..." he said as he dropped his basket filled with herbs on the ground and looked at the sky.

Yuki could sense that they were indeed very similar. It was not just the fact that they didn't believe in killing, but that boy's chakra resembled her nature type.

"You can sense it too, right? This icy, cold chakra..." said the boy as he now was looking at his hands.

Yuki nodded. They couldn't be from the same place, but their chakras was indeed similar. Seeing how he spoke about his chakra, Yuki could only assume that he had a kekkei genkai, one that related to ice, perhaps.

"Where are you from, really?" asked Yuki not really expecting an answer.

"Do you ever feel cold?" he asked her instead.

"Not really." replied Yuki slightly taken aback.

"Where are you from?"

"Sometimes that's better. Where we are from, I was hated, feared, thrown around like trash. Only when I met him did I find some shelter."

"We? I don't think we are from the same place despite all the similarities. There's also many differences between our chakras. I can sense it the longer I am close to you."

The boy did not reply to that comment. He too could tell that there was a huge difference between the two of them. His own chakra was cold, but warmed by his willingness to do so. It was warmed by his desire to protect the people around him, or more the _him_ he talked about. Yuki's chakra was in nature cold, but it was warmed, not by her, but by the people around her. She was loved more than she loved.

"Well, one of my teammates were hurt. I should really head back with these herbs now." he said as he stood up. "Ah, I am Haku, by the way. I won't ask for your name since you probably won't tell me. Feel free to follow me if you want to know more... that is if you have the ability." He then disappeared in a whirlwind of cold air after giving her one last smile.

"I think I got the answer I was looking for." murmured Yuki as she look at the spot where he vanished.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 12**

* * *

Thank you for all the support and for reading!

xoxox

Krystal


	14. Chapter 13: Winter's First Snowfall

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Winter's First Snowfall**

* * *

 **I** t often occurred to Yuki that her _enemies_ are not always people she hated. That boy Haku was one that she couldn't help but feel for. He was not intrinsically bad. She was certain of that. As she pondered about Haku, the night came. Yuki decided not to head back right away to where Kakashi and his team were staying. She wanted to be alone for a little bit longer. It was in her nature to be by herself after all. Yuki was also exhausted from these past few days. She sat down under a tree and leaned against its trunk. She closed her eyes and promised herself that she would only close them for thirty minutes or so. Her eyelids really felt heavy, so did all her limbs. Before she knew it, she fell asleep. It had been a while since she was able to sleep so well. The air was quite cold that night, but it did not seem to bother her at all. The icy wind seemed to caress her skin.

Before she knew it, the sun was rising high and warming her face with its rays. She slowly opened her eyes. She looked around. It was already, perhaps, around 9 in the morning. As she began standing up to stretch herself, she noticed that a soft wool blanket was covering her. It was light, warm and had a refreshing scent to it. A small note was attached to it: _From a friend to another._ Although Yuki had her doubts, she believed that Haku was the one who delivered this blanket to her. It seemed she wasn't the only one who felt like Haku could be more than just the supposed _enemy_. They could had been friends in difference circumstances. As she stretched and packed away the blanket, she sensed something weird in the air. There was a battle happening nearby. She closed her eyes to focus. There was no doubt about it. She could sense that Team 7's chakra was highly active. She could also sense Haku's and Zabuza's chakras being put into work. Suddenly, she sensed Naruto's chakra being weakened while Sasuke's chakra suddenly increased. It was filled with anger, hate... Yuki bit her lip and started wondering what Kakashi was doing. Without further delay, Yuki teleported herself over to the place of their battle.

Yes, Yuki could teleport herself in proximity of certain people when she placed her seal on them, just like the Fourth Hokage and the Second Hokage. Yuki, as a child and even now, entertained herself by reading many different books, including those that recorded different types of jutsus and how they worked. Although she hasn't mastered all of them, Yuki had a fine understanding of them. At this point, she could only teleport to certain areas that were within a certain distance. Where Kakashi, who was marked with the seal since their ANBU's days, wasn't too far away from where Yuki was.

As she appeared, she could only see a huge ice mirror structure in which she could sense both Naruto and Sasuke's chakra. That structure was, undoubtedly, created by Haku.

"I haven't seen that Flying Thunder God Technique in a long time now... since Minato-sensei..." started Kakashi as he was panting next to her.

"I wouldn't dare to compare it to the Fourth's Technique. There's much limit to what I can do with it." replied Yuki as she was now glancing over to Zabuza who was standing a few feet away from Kakashi. "What happened here anyway?"

"You don't seem surprised about Zabuza's presence. I assume you already knew about his fake death. Over there, Sasuke and Naruto are fighting Haku. That..."

"Yeah, I know. How is Sakura?"

"She's over on the other end of the bridge protecting our client. She should be fine. We are occupying these two for now. If you don't mind me asking you to..."

"Take a look at Sasuke and Naruto? Certainly."

Yuki left right away. She was just outside the ice mirror structure now. She could see from the cracks that Naruto was badly injured, though his life was not threatened. Haku went easy on him. Sasuke was trying to fight Haku from inside. He was moving fast. Yuki caught a glance of his face. _Sharingan._ Yuki was not aware that Sasuke had awakened his Sharingan. Awakening it meant that he went through a strong pain relating to relationships that he had. It then occurred to her how Itachi's actions might have truly affected him.

Before Yuki could intervene, Haku sent his needles towards Naruto. Sasuke rushed to Naruto and took the blow for him. While the two of them were having their bonding moment, Yuki said to Haku:

"You really don't act like an ANBU. I would've finished them off a long time ago."

Haku stepped out from his ice mirror to talk face to face to Yuki.

"You are a lot scarier than you appear to be."

"Why are you just injuring them? Wouldn't it be easier to just kill them?" asked Yuki with an unchanging tone. At the corner of her eye, she could see Naruto holding Sasuke and glaring at her. His eyes changed color. "Nevermind that question. I have something to deal with right now."

There was chakra that was leaking through Naruto that was not his own. _Kyuubi_. Yuki rushed inside the mirror prison.

"Naruto, calm down. Sasuke isn't dead. He's just been put to sleep."

"Why... Why would you tell him to kill us?" he asked angrily.

"That's not what I meant."

"You shouldn't be joking about somebody's life like that then!" he yelled.

"Is like that precious to you?" she asked. "If so, let me have a look at Sasuke and you."

He bit on his lip hardly and pointed to Haku who was just standing outside: "What about him?!"

"He won't attack. He's a friend..." said Yuki as she glanced over her shoulder only to see Haku give her a small nod.

Naruto's anger was dissipating. More of the Nine-tailed's chakra was leaking out. Yuki had no choice. She wanted him to suppress that chakra by himself, but she had to do it herself. She focused chakra into her hand and hit him in the stomach to seal the chakra back in. As she did so, the impact made him black out for a bit. Yuki glanced at Sasuke. He seemed fine. There was no urgent care needed. She stepped back outside of the ice prison and looked at Haku.

"Why do you fight?" she asked. "You obviously don't want to."

"I have someone I want to protect. I said the same to those two. They too..."

He stopped and ran towards where Kakashi and Zabuza were. All Yuki saw was a bright blue thunder and then Haku who was struck by Kakashi. He was smiling. He was holiding onto Kakashi's arm to hold him down for Zabuza to make his move. Yuki rushed to Kakashi side to kick Zabuza out of the way before he could hurt Kakashi. Haku crumbled down to the ground. Kakashi released his jutsu allowing Yuki to come and grab Haku before his head hit the ground.

"Is he really worth it?" Yuki asked him. Yuki did not bother with healing. The wound was too deep, Haku also did not have the will to live on.

"Yes..." replied Haku weakly as he coughed up some blood.

"Then you did good." said Yuki with a smile as she could hear her own voice get choked up from wanting to tear up. It had been a while since Yuki felt so worked up so emotionally. "I'm glad I got to have a friend like you."

"I can say the same to you..." Haku said as he smiled. His vision began to blur. "As a friend... can you do me a favor?"

Yuki nodded.

"Zabuza... he... he's actually very lonely. Be a friend to him too..."

"I...Sure."

"And... I have always feared of being forgotten... will you..."

"I will always remember you, Haku. Until the day I die, I will remember your name..."

"I will too." said a small voice.

It was Naruto who was now standing next to them. He was crying. He kneeled down and held Haku's hand.

"I won't forget my first opponent, never. I promise!"

Haku gave them one last smile. His eyes closed. He was gone.

"That Zabuza..." murmured Naruto under his sobbing.

Yuki looked away from Haku. Zabuza was still standing. He was unstable. He was no longer fighting Kakashi. There were many people on the bridge. They were Gato's men. Gato himself was there too. Zabuza ran towards them unsteadily, like a mad horse. Naruto was about to run towards him. Kakashi stopped him.

"It is his own problem. Don't get involved. He needs to do this himself."

The fight did not last long. It was short, brutish and painful to watch.

"Zabuza, look at you! You used to be such a great ninja. Just because that worthless brat died you are acting like a mad man. What a man you are, Zabuza!" yelled Gato despicably.

Zabuza could no longer move from his wounds. He could only bite down on his own tongue and wish that he could kill Gato for badmouthing Haku. Although he never explicitly said that he cared for Haku and how much he wanted to avenge him, Yuki could tell by his body language. Without hesitation, Yuki stood behind Zabuza and threw Haku's needle towards Gato. It hit Gato's vital point and he dropped dead right where he was standing. Zabuza looked at Yuki.

"He asked me to be a friend to you like he was. I couldn't think of a better way to end this by impersonating his skills." said Yuki softly.

Zabuza collapsed to the ground.

"I want to see him one last time." he said weakly.

Kakashi came to his side and brought him next to Haku's body. It began to snow.

"Haku, are you crying?" Zabuza asked before he, too, left this world.

Naruto was crying by their sides. It was his first time experiencing the death of people he knew and grew to like.

"Don't be too sad. They are somewhere much purer now." said Yuki as she looked to the sky where the first snow of this winter was continuing to fall upon them.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 13**

* * *

Thank you for the reviews, love, support! It is very very appreciated!

xoxox

Krystal


	15. Chapter 14: The Chuunin Exam

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 14: The Chuunin Exam**

* * *

 **"A** nd that's what happened during our mission." Kakashi told the Third Hokage.

"I see. Well, good job everyone. You've all worked hard. Do get some rest tonight."

They all bowed before leaving the Hokage's office. Yuki stayed behind. Once the door closed, she removed her mask. It had been a while since she took it off.

"You must be exhausted too." The Third said to her. "You can work on your report later. Just get some rest for today."

"It's already done. I did it on my way back. It's not much different from what Kakashi reported, really." she said as she handed in her written report.

He looked at what she wrote. He then closed that document. He looked at her in the eyes and asked her:

"I'm curious about one thing. How was it working with them?"

"It's certainly different. They get involved emotionally quite often."

"Did you not this time around?"

Yuki remained silent. She, to her own surprise, did. She grew to care for Haku as a friend only after a few encounters.

"You've changed without even knowing. I think it's time for you to quit the ANBU organization."

"I..." started Yuki.

"It's an order. I want you to try out for the chuunins exam."

"You must be joking..."

"I know your abilities surpass many. They probably would allow you to be a jounin right off the bat, but I think it will benefit you to go through the procedure with them."

"By them, you mean Kakashi's team? They are rookies, will they even join this upcoming exam?"

"They will. I can guarantee that."

"But..."

"No more _buts_ Yuki. I already found a team for you to join for this exam. They are short of one member to participate."

"Hokage-sama..."

"I just want the best for you."

"Grandpa..."

"I will take your mask back from you, thank you." he said as he stretched out his arm demanding for that mask she was holding onto so tightly.

She bit on her lip and reluctantly handed him the mask. She turned around towards the door to make her leave.

"Meet your team downstairs! Be nice, now!" he said in a light-hearted tone.

She waved a silent goodbye, before heading downstairs. She was really annoyed by the fact that he was making her go through the chuunins exam. It wasn't because she had to go through the exam, it was because she hated the fact that she would now have to reveal herself to everyone. She liked being the shadows. She liked having her own space, no one to look out for or care for. She didn't know that those things were long gone ever since she started caring for Sasuke in stead of Itachi. She forgot that she was no longer in the shadows the moment she helped out Kakashi's team in their last mission. She was no longer all alone the moment she held people dear to her heart: Itachi and now Haku as well. The Third was right. She had changed without her own knowledge.

She was still deep in her thoughts when she reached the first floor. There were two ninjas, around 2 years older than her, standing there. They were most likely her teammates for this upcoming exam. As she got closer, their faces got clearer as well. They did not have any special traits to them. Their chakras weren't special either.

"Are you Yuki?" asked one of them casually.

She nodded. His voice was not particularly pleasant to listen to.

"I didn't know she would be that young." said the second to the first one.

His voice was not pleasant to listen to either.

"We're your teammates for this chunnin exam. My name is Kenji and that's Kunio. This is our second time trying out for the Chuunin Exam. We've trained hard for this one so don't mess it up for us."

Yuki glared at them, but then changed her expression to a kinder one:

"We should fight to learn each other's abilities. You guys already know each other, so the two of you against me?"

"Aren't you being too confident?" asked Kunio. "Judging by your age, you must be fresh out of the Academy."

"I just believe in my own abilities. So, what do you say?"

They both nodded with a grin on their faces. Yuki smiled back. She was rolling her eyes in her mind.

"I'll meet you guys on the training grounds in an hour?" she asked still trying to maintain her smile.

They agreed and left in direction of the training grounds. Yuki looked at them walk away. She definitely did not like them. _Be nice_. She thought _. I wonder if Grandfather should be telling me or them to be nice. If we are going to pass this Chuuning exam, I'm going to have to take the lead. They will only let me do so if I can shut their arrogant mouths._

* * *

 **T** he one hour was almost over. Yuki had time to grab a quick dinner and take a nice bath. Most people wouldn't take a bath before a battle. After all, they would sweat and get dirt on themselves once again. As she was heading towards the training grounds, she bumped into Neji. Their eyes met. It had been a while since they last saw each other. It had been a while since he saw her without her mask on. He didn't say anything, nor did she. He then looked away as if he did not recognize her. She looked away as well. She then walked away. She could only take a few steps when she heard:

"I haven't seen you around lately."

She stopped and looked over her shoulder. He hadn't moved from where they bumped into each other. He looked over his shoulder as well.

"Gai-sensei told me you were joining the upcoming Chuunin exam. Why would an ANBU do that?"

"An order is an order." she replied.

He didn't ask any further. He turned around and kept walking as if nothing had happened.

"It was nice seeing you too!" she yelled out. "I'll see you again during the exams!"

She didn't expect an answer from him, but, to her surprise, he waved his hand as if he was trying to say _see you later_. She couldn't help but smile. She turned her head around and walked toward the training grounds with light steps. Neji was known to be cold, insensible, but Yuki has seen so many glimpses of the child that was in him. He was actually a very warm person. He lost what nurtured that warmth, but it was still there, somewhere.

* * *

 **S** he finally made it to the training grounds where her two new teammates were waiting for her.

"You are late." said Kenji.

"Only by a minute." she replied nonchalantly.

"A minute means life and death during the Chuunin Exam." said Kunio.

Yuki raised her eyebrow. _At least they were aware of that._ She thought to herself.

"We thought of the rules of this fight. First one to hit the ground loses." said Kenji as he readied himself with some kunais.

Yuki nodded. They both had their kunais out. They were ready to fight. Yuki didn't bother taking any weapons out. In fact, she did not even bring any weapons with her. From their stances, she could tell that this was going to be an easy battle. She didn't want to hurt their pride though. _Be nice_. She thought to herself. They rushed towards her. She easily avoided their first few attacks. She didn't even touch them yet. She wanted to observe how agile they were and how much strength they could use.

"Aren't you going to strike back?" asked Kenji seemingly annoyed by her nonchalance.

"Eventually." she said calmly.

She continued to simply dodge their attacks. They were predictable. There was nothing special about their combos.

"That's enough!" yelled Kenji. "Let me show you some ninjutsu. Let's see how you can avoid this."

 _Finally_. Yuki thought. She took a few steps back. He formed his seals. He shot quite a few water bullets towards her. She avoided it them without much problem. She heard him yell in anger. Kunio pulled out his katanas. He was quite skilled with them, although the speed of his movement was quite average. Again, Yuki did not have to struggle much to avoid his attacks. They were already panting. _Time to finish this._ She thought. She disappeared in a whirlwind of snow and appeared right behind them. She struck them from behind, just hard enough so that their knees would hit the ground.

"I guess this means I win?" she said gently.

Kenji, angered, tried to hit her sneakily with his left arm. She stepped on his hand quickly making him yell out of pain.

"If we are going to be teammates, I would like you to know a few things about me. One, I hate sore losers. I cannot stand them. Two, I hate people who can't control their emotions. It is often the cause of a failed mission. Three, you both might be older than me, but believe me, I have much more experience then you guys. Questions?"

Kunio stood up and brushed off the dirt on his knees.

"You said you wanted us to fight so that we would know better about each other's ability, but we know nothing about yours right now."

"I lied. I wanted to know more about you guys so that I could adapt. You are much more level headed. You are quite good in taijutsu. Your ninjutsu is weak, so is your genjutsu, that's why you never let go of your weapons. Am I right?"

He nodded.

"And you." Yuki said as she looked down to Kenji who was massaging his hand. "You are short tempered. You have good moves, but you are not aware of your surroundings. It makes all your good moves go to waste."

Kenji looked at her angrily.

"I am not saying I am without flaws. I will sum up my best and worst traits to you. I am quite well balanced in terms of my skills. My genjutsus skills are probably my worst. I am quite fast and precise, but I lack in terms of strength. I tend to like to work on my own. Teamwork is definitely not my strongest point. I learn fast and I can adapt well. I tend to be a little cold in my approaches to things. That sounds about right. Let's pass this exam together." she said with a smile, a genuine one this time.

Kenji was still pouting while Kunio smiled back. They then said their goodbyes before heading back to their own homes.

* * *

 **Y** uki was now lying on her bed, looking out her window. It wasn't that late. She could have stayed up to read, but she decided to hit the bed early. She then heard somebody knocking on her door. She slipped her little feet in her slippers and walked towards the door. She opened it and the Third was standing there with a box in his hands.

"Can I come in?"

Yuki made way for him to come in. She turned on the lights. They sat at her dining table.

"I brought some cake over. I know you love sweets." he said.

"Thank you."

"Are you upset I made you enter the Chuunin Exam?"

"Not really. I just don't see the point..."

"I wasn't being entirely honest. I received a report from Jiraiya how there was some weird activity from Orochimaru. He heard that he had something to do with a new village, the Sound village. They are going to be part of this Exam."

"You wanted someone within the Exam to be able to keep an eye out for them."

He nodded.

"Is that an ANBU mission or a personal request from you to me?"

"I told you to quit the ANBU, didn't I? It is a personal request from me."

"So I am not getting paid?" Yuki asked jokingly.

"Aren't you paid with this cake?" he answered with a big grin on his face.

"I will enjoy my pay. Thank you very much."

He stood up and headed for the door.

"Are you heading back already?" she asked him as she followed him to the door.

"I want you to get some rest. It's been a long day for you and I believe tomorrow too."

"How come?"

"They are arriving tomorrow. If I am correct, you will try to gather information about each team that is coming to our village."

Yuki nodded with a smile. She waved him goodbye, closed the door and locked it. He was right. Tomorrow was probably going to be another long day. She placed the cake in the fridge, turned off the lights and headed straight to bed. She knew she wasn't going to sleep much, but she tried to fall into the world of dreams anyway.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 14**

* * *

And a new part of Yuki's story has begun.

Thank you for your support!

xoxox

Krystal


	16. Chapter 15: Them

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Them**

* * *

 **T** he different teams from the different villages have entered the village. Their style was greatly different from Konoha. Yuki wasn't too surprised about it. After all, she did travel a lot during her time as an ANBU. The only village she did not come close to was the Sound Village. They were apparently a newer village created by Orochimaru. There was only one team at the Chuunin Exam: two males and one female ninjas. They looked older than Yuki. They were perhaps around Kenji and Kunio's age. It was a good age to enter the Chuunin: they earned some experience with missions, they were probably more rational, they knew their strengths and weaknesses as a team.

Yuki was just around downtown to observe those foreigners. She paid attention not only to the Sound shinobis, but also the others. They were indeed different from the others. Their chakras were much more developed in comparison to the other participants. There were also three ninjas that caught her eyes: the Sand team. Again, it was a team formed by one female and two males. The female looked about her age or a year older. One of the male had brown hair and looked about a year or two older than the female. The last one was about Yuki's age. He had a stone cold face. He had no eyebrows that would help him express emotions. He mostly walked around with his arms crossed.

They were now visiting the village. They did not go together as a group. The female and older male went together, while the third member disappeared.

"This village is so loud." said the oldest one.

As he said so, a kid bumped into him. Yuki took a closer look. It was Konohamaru, the Third's grandson. The shinobi grabbed him by the collar, refused to let him go despite Konohamaru's cries.

"OI! Let go of him!" yelled a loud voice.

Naruto was running towards them.

"Or what? I need to teach this kid a lesson." said the Sand shinobi mercilessly.

He tightened his grip on Konohamaru's collar. A rock, then, flew out of nowhere and hit that ninja's hand. He finally let go due to pain. Konohamaru ran towards Naruto and his friends, who, by now, have gathered at the scene. Yuki looked in the direction of where the rock came from. It was Sasuke who threw it.

"Damn it! Oi, kid, come down here and let's have a fight!" said the ninja to Sasuke.

"Kankuro, we're not here to cause trouble." said a deep voice. It was that other ninja that was with him, the one who showed no emotions on his face.

"I know the Sand is the Leaf's ally, but you must state your reason for being here." said a female voice. It was Sakura.

The Sand kunoichi smirked but gave no reply. She obviously thought that those kids were not worth her time. She did, however, glance at Sasuke. He seemed to be somewhat worthy of their attention.

"I asked you a question!" said Sakura, obviously annoyed by the fact that she was blatantly ignored.

The Sand shinobis appeared to be ready to pick a fight, even that kid who said that they weren't here to cause trouble. He was eyeing Sasuke. Yuki decided to intervene. There was really no need for a fight to take place in the middle of a busy street. There would be unwanted casualties and damages.

"They are here for the Chuunin Exam." said Yuki as she walked to the middle of the scene.

All eyes were on her. Naruto, obviously, recognized her. He was excited to see her. Konohamaru also knew her. They weren't close, but, in a sense, they were family. The rest didn't know who she was. Sakura and Sasuke never saw her without her mask. There was no reason for the Sand to know of her.

"Who are you?" said the older Sand shinobi.

"Just a passerby." Yuki replied calmly.

The female Sand shinobi whispered something to her older teammate. Yuki tried to read her lips. It had to do with the fact that they didn't sense Yuki's presence all this time. Yuki then looked to Sasuke and the younger Sand shinobi. They both had the same expression on their face. They finally came down from the tree they were standing on.

"I'm Gaara." the kid said. "What's your name?"

He was looking at Sasuke as he asked that question.

"Uchiha Sasuke." responded Sasuke confidently with a smirk on his face.

"Uchiha..." Gaara murmured.

The Uchiha clan was indeed famous. They were long feared for their immense power and abilities. Although Sasuke did not yet exhibit all his talent, there was no doubt that it was only a question of time before his abilities demonstrated themselves.

"And you are?" Gaara then asked turning towards Yuki.

"As I said, just a passer..."

Before she could finish, she heard her teammates yell out her name:

"OI! YUKI! Didn't you say we would meet soon to practice for the Chuunin Exam? How about we go now?"

Yuki sighed. She didn't have any intention to stand out before the exams started. The reason for that was because she wanted to keep her abilities a secret for as long as possible, same with her identity.

"Yuki-san, you are participating in the exams this year?" asked Konohamaru with timid voice.

He was surprised. He knew she was highly skilled and had been working as an ANBU for the past couple of years now. He knew that her skills allowed her to gain his grandfather's attention very early on. There were times where he was jealous of the attention Yuki got from the Third, but he also looked up to her. Although they never talked much, she was like a role model for him. He really couldn't understand why she would be participating in such an exam. What was the need?

Yuki nodded as an answer to his question. She also gave him sign to not ask any further.

"I didn't know you were a ninja!" said Naruto as he walked towards her.

"You never asked." she answered with a smile.

He frowned at her response, but then smiled widely.

"I can't wait to compete against you, old friend!" he said as he nudged her.

"I got my answer. I'll see you at the exams." said Gaara as he turned his back to everyone and began walking away.

His teammates did the same, but without introducing themselves. Yuki looked at their backs. She tried to focus in order to study their chakra a little bit. The two older ones had average chakra. They worked well in order to develop it, but there was nothing special about their chakras. Gaara, on the other hand, had chakra that was cold all over his body. His chakra was also immense. It kind of reminded her of Naruto's. However, Naruto had a warm envelope around his cold Nine-tail chakra.

"They are so arrogant." commented Sakura.

"They have a good reason for being so. I would not underestimate them, if I were you." Yuki said to Sakura.

"Your voice is very familiar." said Sasuke as they got closer. "We've met before, haven't we?"

Yuki shook her head and waved goodbye. She quickly walked over to her team members who were standing a few feet away.

"She does seem very familiar." Sakura repeated. "So many strong opponents for this Chuunin exam... I wonder if we will be able to get very far into the exam..."

* * *

 **I** t was around midnight when Yuki finally started walking back home. She was just coming back from talking to the Third about the incident with the Sand Village earlier today. He told her about the participation of all the Rookies this year. She was surprised that they all, especially Shikamaru, willingly joined the exam. Nonetheless, she was happy there was going to be familiar faces in the exam.

Yuki always walked with her head tilted upward. Her eyes were usually always locked on the moon, the stars, the clouds... It was no different that night. She enjoyed doing so. The moon was especially beautiful tonight. Yuki wanted to feel closer to it. She hopped on the roofs and took her walk home from there. There was usually nothing that blocked her way when walking on the rooftops, but, that night, there was someone. _Gaara._ She thought as she recognized the chakra before she could actually see him clearly and identify him.

His expression was as cold as always. He sensed her presence and turned his head to look at her. He was glaring. He seemed angered, but then he softened his expression. It wasn't warmer, it was just less cold. He turned away and looked at the moon.

"Well, at least, we have something in common." said Yuki as she walked closer.

"In common?" he asked as he, now, was looking at Yuki once again.

"Do you mind if I join you?" she asked him, pointing to an empty spot next to him.

He didn't answer. She took it for a yes. She sat down next to him. He moved away slightly.

"I've met you before." he then said.

"Yes, this morning." she replied.

"No, when I was kid, I've seen you in the Sand Village. You were delivering some kind of letter from the Hokage to my father."

"I might have..."

"What's an ANBU doing in a chuunin exam?" he said with an icy cold tone. "You were ordered to kill me, weren't you?"

She could sense a dark shadow rising behind her. A few grains of sand fell upon her hair. Before she could reply, that shadow struck down on her. It was a huge mass of sand shaped like a fist. It was trying to crush her, just like a hand would try to crush a mosquito. She disappeared in the sand mass that kept growing and growing. Gaara was standing now. He was grabbing onto his head. It was hurting him. He seemed to be in utter confusion about his own action. He kept on murmuring to himself _why._

"She's dead..." he murmured.

"And you said I was ordered to kill you. It looks like you had the intent to kill me." said a voice from below.

Yuki had moved to the rooftop of a lower level building. What he had crushed was a snow clone. He glared at her.

"Just when I thought we..." began Yuki before she was interrupted by Gaara's scream.

"WE? No, you are just one of them! Don't..." he stopped to grab onto his head once again. It was throbbing. He was shaking from that pain.

"Gaara..." began Yuki.

"Don't call me as if we were friends. I know he asked you to get rid of me! They all try to get rid of me because they are scared of me! They want me dead!"

"I want to fight you. I wouldn't be able to if you were dead." said Yuki firmly. "But not like today. I want to fight the real Gaara."

"The real..."

"I'll see you during the Chuunin exam. Let us then have a fair battle." she continued as she could sense that he was calming down.

"Fair?"

"A battle where our minds are clear and there are no ulterior motive other than to win and move forward in the exam. A battle where that One-tail won't get involved."

"How..."

"Just a hunch... See you!"

She waved goodbye before heading to her home. She knew he was the One-tail's Jinchuuriki. When he said that she had handed a letter to his father in the Sand Village, she knew exactly who he was. From all the data she gathered about the Sand Village, the one about the Kazakage's son being a Jinchuuriki was part of it. It explained why she sensed a similarity between Gaara and Naruto. This Chuunin Exam became more and more worthy of her time.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 15**

* * *

Thank you for reading and suppporting the story!

xoxox

Krystal


	17. Chapter 16: The First Exam

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 16: The First Exam**

* * *

 **T** hey were all gathered in a classroom, waiting for the first exam to start. Naruto was being loud as always, attracting unwanted attention. He was, fortunately, stopped by an older genin wearing glasses. _Yakushi Kabuto._ Yuki thought to herself. She had data on him from the Hokage. He wasn't an outstanding ninja according to the information, but, in person, Yuki could sense that he was more than he appeared to be. As she was looking from a distance at the 9 rookies and Kabuto, she caught Sasuke glancing over at her and asking Kabuto to provide some information about her. Kabuto had these cards that had gathered information about their strengths and abilities.

"Well, surprisingly, even though she's from the Leaf, I've got almost nothing."

"Seriously?" asked Shikamaru, suddenly interested.

He seemed to have remembered her from his childhood. He looked in her direction and smiled.

"Yes. I just know her age. She should have graduated with you guys, but you all say that she didn't. I would keep an eye out for her. People who are so mysterious are definitely to watch out for."

The 9 rookies nodded. They then asked about the Sound ninjas. Those foreign ninjas also interested Yuki. They were the main reason for her to be part of this exam, after all.

"Nothing much." said Kabuto. "They are a new village. From what I know, there really isn't much..."

Before he could finish, one of the three Sound ninja rushed towards him and attacked him:

"We'll give you something to put on those stupid cards of yours."

Kabuto clearly dodged the attack, but his glasses cracked and his ear was bleeding. _Sound._ Kabuto most likely suffered from an injury of his eardrums. They were perforated by the strength of the sound or the pressure created by that attack. Yuki took a closer look at the three Sound ninjas. They were standing there confidently, unafraid of the attention they have now attracted.

"Fighting isn't allowed in this classroom." said a deep voice from the front of the class.

 _Morino Ibiki_. Yuki looked over at him. He was known to be one of the best, if not the best, interrogator in Konoha's history. His methods are known to be ruthless, but of high efficacy. She couldn't help but smirk a little. She was in for a show. He spotted her from a distance. He also smirked. It wasn't the first time that they met.

"My name is Morino Ibiki. I'll be the main proctor for this first exam. You've all been assigned seats. Get to them and I'll explain further."

The room was silenced at those words and the genins moved along quickly to find their seats. Yuki was sitting next to a familiar face, Neji. He looked at her, but did not smile.

"First exam is a written test consisting of 10 questions. You have an hour. Here are the rules: the total score of your team will determine whether you pass this round of not. If one team member gets zero, the whole team is disqualified. If a team member is caught cheating more than 5 times, the whole team is disqualified. No talking, no fighting allowed. Ah, and the 10th question will only be given to you 15 minutes before the end." said Ibiki sternly.

The papers were getting distributed. Yuki was looking around her as the papers were circulating. Sakura seemed confident. Naruto was fidgeting. Sasuke was calm. Shikamaru was yawning. Gaara still didn't have any expressions. Lee was fired up. Tenten was looking at Lee worriedly. Neji, who was beside her, was also calm. Her own teammates gave her a thumbs up. They had planned ahead for a written exam. They were far from being the smartest people, but they were counting on Yuki to help them through this exam.

"The hour starts now." Ibiki announced.

Everyone turned their sheet of paper around. The questions weren't easy. Yuki did not find them difficult. They were all questions she had encountered in her readings, but they were far above the level of what a genin would have to know. She grinned. The whole point of this exam was to test their ability to gather information. Simple, yet it won't be easy to gather information with all the chuunins proctoring the exam at the moment. It was a true test. She began the exam and finished within the first 10 minutes. It was now time for her to share these answer to her teammates. Sending discreet messages was part of an ANBU's daily work. She simply had to use a jutsu that would transform her own answers into something mobile and allow it to reach her teammates and they would print onto their own papers that way. Twenty minutes into the exam and all three of them were done. Yuki looked around her carefully. A few genins have been caught cheating already. A little over half of the numbers of genins were left. Neji also finished the exam as he undid his Byakugan. He most likely copied her answers. She looked over at Naruto. He was in complete panic mode. He didn't seem to have written a single thing nor did he understand that he had to cheat in order to succeed. The 45 minutes were up.

"Here's the 10th question. Ah, but before we give it to you, I would like to give you all an option. You can choose to leave now and retry for the exam next year. I won't be the proctor and the questions will most likely be easier. If you choose to get the 10th question, you must answer it right, because if you don't, you get 0 on this test and you won't be allowed to ever take the Chuunin exam again." announced Ibiki as he laughed evilly a little.

Many gasped. They started looking around. Some were stuck in a dilemma. Some started to stand up and leave after apologizing to their teammates. Yuki smiled. If she wasn't wrong, this was the tenth question.

"I'll take on your 10th question!" yelled a loud voice.

"Oh?" said Ibiki as everyone looked over at the genin who courageously stood up. "You don't seem to be the brightest cookie around here, but you want to take on this last question? What if you fail?"

"Then let me be a genin forever! But you know what? I will still become the Hokage! Believe it!" he yelled confidently.

"Well said, Naruto." murmured Yuki, more than pleased with that answer.

"Did you say something, kid?" asked Ibiki as he pointed at Yuki.

"Just some words of encouragement from Sun Tzu: If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things. Genin, Chuunin... They are all but a mundane title..."

"If you really want to be ninja, be it regardless of your status." continued Shikamaru.

"Work hard for it, fight for it, keep on fighting for it!" said Lee enthusiastically.

"Be it despite of the tiredness, sufferance." completed Neji.

"Huh?" said Naruto as he looked at the four of them in utter confusion. "I just meant I would become the Hokage no matter what happens..."

Ibiki smiled and said:

"I guess nobody else will leave now."

"Bring on the 10th question!" yelled Naruto.

"Here it is... Everybody in this room... passes."

All the Chuunins started clapping.

"That was the tenth question." said Ibiki with a smile.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 16**

* * *

Short filler chapter

xoxox

Krystal


	18. Chapter 17: The Second Exam

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The Second Exam**

* * *

 **T** he second exam had started for 30 minutes now. Yuki's team was out and about in the forest in attempt to find another team who would be carrying an Earth scroll. The rules of this exam was simple: Within 5 days, make it to the tower in the center of the forest with all your teammates and the two scrolls unopened. There was a total of 28 teams. Half of them had a Earth scroll, other half had a Heaven scroll.

Yuki wanted to find the scroll quickly, get her teammates close to the tower quickly and then head off to complete her other mission which was to find out more about the mysterious Sound ninja. So far, she knew very little: they were short-tempered characters who did have some talent when it came to fighting.

As she pondered about the next few days, she suddenly caught the scent of fresh blood.

"Careful, fresh blood has been spilled, quite a lot actually."

"What? Don't say that! I'm getting goosebumps..." said Kenji.

"Should we head another direction then?" asked Kunio, seemingly worried.

"No. I think we should try to gather information on who we are dealing with." replied Yuki calmly. _And save lives, if we can._ She then thought to herself.

She closed her eyes for a second and focused to detect the chakras that were ahead of them. There was no doubt about it. It was Gaara and his team. She could sense it, his murderous aura. It was just like when he tried to kill her before the exam. As they got closer, Yuki and her teammates remained hidden in the high trees. She saw three Amegakure headbands lying on the rocky grounds. There was a large pool of blood and three immobile bodies drowning in it. There was nothing left to save. It wasn't over for Gaara. He wasn't satisfied yet.

"More..." he murmured.

"Gaara! That's enough. Let's just head to the tower, now." said the oldest of the team.

"More..." Gaara kept on saying.

His teammates were seemingly scared as well. The girl courageously grabbed on to his arm and gently said:

"There will be more later on. Please, let's stop now."

He calmed down after glaring at her. He shook her hand off and headed towards the tower. His two teammates followed. Yuki, Kenji and Kunio decided to descend from the tree they were hiding in. Kenji and Kunio stayed back as Yuki got closer to the pool of blood to examine the state of the three bodies. Their bones were crushed into fine powder and their blood vessels were perforated from the strong pressure. There really was no vital sign left. As she was sadly looking upon those three ninjas, she heard movement from the bushes around her.

"Come out, I heard you." she said.

Someone faked the sound of a rabbit.

"I've heard rabbits all my life, they sound nothing like that. Just come out."

"Ha, you caught us." said a nasal voice. "Let's fight for that scroll then!"

"Do you even have the scroll that we need? Let's avoid needless fighting. I have a heaven scroll."

"So do we." said a deeper voice.

"We don't... ummm... have to fight then." said a small timid voice.

It was Hyuuga Hinata's team. They were all out of the bushes. There was also a dog with them. It was seemingly shaken.

"I take it that you've witnessed what happened to those three?" Yuki asked.

"Yes..." Hinata replied. "It was... awful."

"There was no fear in his eyes. There was actually pleasure gained in his actions." said the owner of the dog who was now patting it.

"I see..." said Yuki as she took one more glance at the dead bodies.

"It's part of the exam. That's why we had to sign those papers before entering the forest." said the third member.

Yuki looked at him. She remembered him very clearly from her childhood.

"We've met before, on a rainy day." he then said.

He remembered too. She nodded then turned around towards her teammates.

"Good luck." she wished them before disappearing with her team into the forest.

* * *

 **I** t's been 3 hours now. They still haven't encountered any other team since Hinata's team. Kenji and Kunio were already tired. Yuki clearly noticed it. They weren't too far away from the tower.

"Hold on to this scroll and go hide near the tower." she said as she handed them the Heaven scroll.

"What about you?" asked Kunio as he took it.

"I'll try to find an Earth scroll."

She took another scroll that contained important items such as food, water and sleeping bags.

"Take this one as well."

"What if we get attacked?" asked Kenji as he took that one.

"I've placed a seal on the Heaven scroll. If any other chakra come into contact with it, I'll be summoned." she replied calmly as she was making sure there were some military ration pills left on her. They would be sufficient for her to survive the next 5 days. "I'll come to you within these 5 days. Don't show yourselves, don't do anything before thinking it thoroughly. I promise I'll bring back an Earth scroll."

"Thanks Yuki..." said Kunio apologetically.

She turned her back and left in the opposite direction of the tower.

* * *

 **Y** uki was on her own now. She was relieved to be alone once again. She worked better on her own. She was more used to it. She could go at her own speed without worrying about others. As she was jumping from tree to tree, she spotted the Second Exam proctor: Mitarashi Anko. She went after her. It was unusual for the proctor to be within the forest. They usually await the participants at the end point. Anko had a worried look on her face too. Her hand was covering one of her shoulder as if she was trying to relieve some kind of pain.

Yuki caught up eventually.

"Yuki, right?" Anko asked. "The Hokage told me about you."

"Where are you going?"

"Orochimaru killed three participants. He is probably posing as them in this forest. I'm looking for him."

"So what we feared was correct. He did infiltrate the village."

"Do you mind keeping an eye out for the Sound Village? Report to us if there's anything abnormal."

"Sure, but will you be okay facing Orochimaru alone?"

"I know him better than anybody else."

It was more than true. Most ninjas in the village now wouldn't know much about Orochimaru. Although Yuki did read a lot about that man, they are only written stories. Her knowledge about him was limited to that she didn't know him well enough to take him on. He was revered as one of the Sannin. His strength was far beyond any opponent Yuki has ever met.

"Focus on finishing this round of the exam and whatever your mission is." Anko said before frowning due to the pain around her shoulder.

"Will do." replied Yuki as she allowed Anko to move further ahead by herself.

Yuki slowed down and took a moment to think about everything. There were many things left unexplained. However, Anko was right. Yuki needed to think about the current exam and mission of information gathering. There was no need for her to engage in a battle against Orochimaru. First of all, it would reveal her purpose to Orochimaru who obviously had something to do with this exam. Second, that something has remained unknown and was in need of Yuki to uncover. Finally, Yuki needed to keep her promise to her own team. If she died or injured herself during the battle against Orochimaru, it would be devastating for the team. She then realized how important her team became to her. She truly did not like them nor did she care much, but there's been growth on her part.

The night slowly came. Yuki was still moving around. The forest was quieter at night. The genins' teams were probably resting. She kept on moving. She then stumbled across a team that were hiding underneath a large tree. That tree had formed a small hut with its roots. Yuki came closer to get a better look at who they were. It was the first team she had encountered in a while. She heard a female voice trying to console herself. There was no doubt about it. It was Sakura's voice. From the looks of it, she was the only one left standing. Sasuke and Naruto were probably injured. Just as slow as the night came, the day arrived fast. Yuki wanted to give them a hand, but part of her thought that they should learn to fend for themselves. She simply observed from the shadows. Suddenly, three shadows traveled quickly right in front of her eyes and towards Sakura's team. Yuki could identify those chakras as the three Sound Genins. It was just her luck. She no longer had to search for them.

The intent to kill was real in their eyes. They wanted to attack Sasuke's team. Sakura was left alone to fight. Yuki wanted to see what she could do and what they could do before jumping in. She remained in the shadows. Somebody else, however, did not do so.

"I am Konoha's beautiful green beast, Rock Lee! I promised Sakura-san I would protect her with my life and I will do so! Prepare to fight."

The Sound genins rolled their eyes and laughed at Lee. Yuki smirked a little. She has seen Lee grow these two years tremendously. He was definitely not one to underestimate. He charged head first towards the Sound genins. They tried to hit him. He avoided the attack, but, just like what happened before the first exam, he received damage from the sound that was produced with the sound. Lee tried to continue fighting, but his balance was off, his movements were uncoordinated and he collapsed to the ground. His own teammates, Neji and Tenten, were no where to be seen.

The three Sound began to attack Sakura. She was defenseless. The female ninja grabbed her hair, shoving her around. The two others were approaching Sasuke and Naruto. Sakura, then, as weak as everyone thought she was, grabbed her kunai and slashed through her hair to release herself from the grasp of that kunoichi. She rushed towards the others in attempt to save Naruto and Sasuke. She was pushed back and around. She bit down on one of the guy's arm only to get beaten up even further. Yuki had seen enough at this point and left the shadow where she was to help Sakura out. As she did so, three others also joined into the fight.

"More clowns trying to be heroes." said the guy who was still punching Sakura around.

The three others was none other than Shikamaru and his team. It wasn't in his nature to act like a hero, but the blonde girl from his team seemed to have dragged him into this. Shikamaru glanced over at Yuki. She also looked at him quickly. Without any more words, Yuki rushed towards the ninja who called them clowns. He barely dodged her attack. The female ninja then rushed over and tried to fight Yuki. _Useless_. She thought to herself. With much ease, she tripped that kunochi and kicked her away from the battle area.

"Are you guys just here to watch the show or actually here to help?" she then asked Shikamaru's team who still did not take action.

"Do you even need help?" Shikamaru asked her as he actually sat down from where he was standing.

She rolled her eyes and moved on to the third ninja who still hasn't taken any actions against her. Before she could get close to him, a large snake launched itself between her and her opponent. She moved back a little bit, assuming it was just passing by and had no specific target. However, it darted towards her and tried to stab its fangs into her. It was fast, strong and precise. She jumped above that snake and ran on its back. Something wasn't right about this snake. It was filled with chakra, built up chakra. It was a human, not an animal as it appeared to be. _Orochimaru_. She thought. It meant that Anko failed in fighting him. As she grew worried and distracted, the snake shook her off and slammed its tail against her back, sending her flying a couple of meters away. Before she hit the ground, someone caught her in her flight. She closed her eyes due to the pain and spat out some blood. They finally landed on the ground. The person who saved her leaned her against a tree. She opened her eyes and took a deep breathe. It was painful. Her vision was slightly blurred for a couple of seconds but then cleared up. It was Neji who caught her in her flight.

"Thanks." she said weakly as she was trying to stand up.

"What are you trying to do? Why are you getting involved? Why is Lee over there?" he asked her with a frown on his face.

Despite the pain, she managed to stand up. She walked towards the battle scene once again without answering any of his questions. It wasn't over yet. The snake was no longer attacking, but it was causing rampage. However, before she could return to the battle area, she sensed a dark and evil chakra. The snake sneakily retreated as if it had done its job. Meanwhile, that chakra grew bigger and bigger. That chakra was colder than any chakra she has ever sensed before. It was Sasuke. His chakra was immense now. It filled the surroundings with this cold and dark aura. Everyone was shivering at the scene, including Yuki and Neji.

He rushed towards the Sound ninja who hurt Sakura the most and broke his arm. The Sound ninja yelled out of pain. He tried getting away, but Sasuke wouldn't let him. Sasuke was no longer recognizable. The look in his eyes was filled with murderous intent. He seemed to be possessed by the devil. Yuki tried to reach the scene a little faster. He really wanted to kill. He really was going a dark path. Yuki couldn't allow that, not after Itachi so hardly fought for him to have a normal life. Yuki could sense that her ribs were fractured and that some were dislocated and pushing against her lungs. She was having a hard time breathing, but she had to get there and stop him before he killed someone. Little did she know, Sakura loved Sasuke more than she feared his murderous behavior. Sakura held on to Sasuke and pulled him back from the steps to hell.

Yuki's pain, finally, got to her. Her legs gave out and she collapsed on the ground panting. She began healing her own wounds, draining her energy even further. However, the pain was eased.

Over there, they were mending themselves as well as the three Sound ninjas left. Tenten was by Lee's side, waking him up and wiping the blood away from his ears. Ino was trimming Sakura's slashed hair. Sasuke was standing away from the group seemingly confused about his own power.

Yuki was feeling better. She replaced most of her ribs in the right position, mended the fractures as best as possible and could breathe normally once again. She headed over towards Team 7, where Naruto has just awaken after all the trouble. She walked over to Sakura and offered to heal her wounds from the battle.

"Thank you for helping us out back there. It caused you to be hurt..." Sakura said as Yuki began to heal her wounds.

"You don't have to thank me. I don't just help anyone. I just help those who are worthy. You just happened to show your worth."

Sakura smiled sweetly.

"Yuki-san! Do you think you can have a look at my ear!? I can't hear anything!" yelled out Lee in attempt to hear himself.

Yuki giggled a little. Lee was still as bright as ever despite his injury. She headed over and healed him as best as she could. Neji was now there as well. She looked at him and thanked him again. He ignored her thank you. He seemed a little upset. Yuki wasn't too sure why. It was perhaps because she did not answer to his questions back there.

"Hey, are you okay? You seemed to have been hurt back there." asked a lazy voice. _Shikamaru._

"Pretty much recovered. Thanks for asking." Yuki replied.

They haven't seen each other since that day on the rooftop when they were kids. However, because they were both old souls at an early age, they clearly remembered each other. They said nothing about that past, but they could both sense it in their shared looks.

"Well, we're off, then." said Shikamaru. "See you all at the tower."

"It's a promise!" said Lee.

Yuki nodded, so did Sakura. It was another promise Yuki definitely had to keep.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 17**

* * *

Thank you for reading!

xoxox

Krystal


	19. Chapter 18: The Blind and The Broken

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 18: The Blind and The Broken**

* * *

 **S** he kept her promise. She brought back an Earth scroll to her team and they headed for the tower. Her teammates were unharmed. They did not have a single wound. They were well rested. Yuki was hurt from the fight against the Sound and the Snake. Although she healed herself as best as she could, there was still some lingering pain. She kept it to herself though. There was no need to worry anybody else. It was, however, hard for her to stand straight for too long. She kept on holding to her side.

The teams that passed the Second Exam gathered in the arena of the tower. Among those teams, Yuki was most interested by the Sound and the Sand. Those two teams were bound to surprise her. She fought against the Sound ninjas, but there was still so many unknown facts about them. She had no doubt that they were related to Orochimaru somehow. That snake she fought against was, certainly, one of the Sannin.

"Well done for making it this far. From here on, it will be an individual battle. There's surprisingly more of you who passed the exam than expected. Therefore, we will have some preliminaries before the final exam." said the Hokage. "Hayate, I will let you the rest of the explanation."

"Yes. Ahem. As the Hokage said, from here on, it will be individual battles. If anybody wants to withdraw now, it will no longer affect their team."

Everyone remained silent. Yuki could notice some movement from Naruto's team, but it quickly settled.

"I see. Ahem. Preliminaries will just be like the final exam. One on one fights. Ahem. You will be randomly paired. The winner moves on to the next round. You fight until one falls or forfeits or until I stop the match. You are encouraged to observe the battle even when you've finished yours. It will be beneficial for the final round. Ahem. If any sensei interrupts or decide to stop the match, their students are considered the loser of the battle. Is it clear?"

Everyone nodded silently.

"Well then... Ahem. You can all move to the second floor. We will start the pairing soon."

Everyone headed to the second floor with their senseis. Yuki's team was not lead by any jounins. They just went to the second floor by themselves. They took place next to Gai's team. Kenji and Kunio were excited to have made it this far. They were both hoping to move on. Lee was also excited and was stretching himself already. Neji remained calm. Tenten was checking on her weapons. Yuki wasn't too thrilled about these one on one match. She was actually about to withdraw, but it would mean that she would miss the battles. She couldn't help but stay and observe.

"Ahem. We will get started with the first match." said the proctor named Hayate.

He looked to the board where all their names were flashing on and off. It finally stopped: Kunio vs Kenji. The two of them looked at each other. Yuki took a step back. As much as she now cared for the both of them, she wasn't too excited about their battle. If she wasn't wrong with her intuition, they would end on a draw. Their skills were about the same.

They headed down to the first floor and began their battle. As Yuki thought, it was rather uninteresting. They both used their strongest jutsus at the same time: knocked out both at the same time. The medics came and took them away.

"Ahem. We will end it here. Both are knocked out. No winner for this round. Next match up: Sasuke and Yoroi."

Sasuke wasn't standing too far away from Yuki. She could see him smirk. He was confident he would win. He headed to the first floor with that attitude. Yoroi was another Leaf ninja who was in that Kabuto's team. He was much older than them. He seemed experienced. His expressions couldn't be read as he was covered by a mask.

The battle started. Sasuke was struggling. Yoroi kept absorbing his chakra. It was an interesting skill. Eventually, Sasuke, somehow, gathered more chakra to fight on. He managed to slide himself behind Yoroi. _Lee's front lotus_. Yuki recognized this move as one of Lee's. She looked over to Lee. He too was stunned that Sasuke was imitating his own skill. Although ended differently, it was definitely inspired by Lee's technique. Sasuke won the battle with that. Kakashi quickly went to his side and took him away. Yuki was more than curious as to why, but it was no time for her to question it. It would reveal her identity. Her eyes followed them until they left the arena. She looked away and up to the screen once again to see who was next. As she did so, she caught the Sound's sensei looking at her. He smiled and then left as well, following Kakashi and Sasuke. Something definitely didn't feel right.

"Shino! Go kick some butt! Show those Sound who the boss is!" yelled out a voice followed by some barking.

There was no answer from the one named Shino. Yuki looked over. It was that boy that she remembered from her childhood. _So his name was Shino_. Yuki was actually very curious about him. He wasn't one to express himself much. He was very mysterious. Yuki couldn't read his character. However, she could tell that he was actually very warm. There was something special about him.

He was about to fight against one of the Sound. His name was Zaku. He was the one that Sasuke broke the arm of. He intended to fight with just one arm. He was as confident as ever. He jumped into the battle right away. He was on the offensive right off the bat. Shino didn't seem to do much. However, the battle ended quickly with Shino coming out as the victor. He was a bug user from the Aburame clan. He used them to infest Zaku's arm that was modified with holes to allow him to control air pressure. It was unfortunately his weakness as well. Shino showed how observant and level headed he was. Although he showed nothing fancy in terms of visuals, he was definitely someone to watch. He managed to fight without revealing too much about himself for the later final round.

"You seem more interested than when we started out." said a calm voice next to Yuki.

Yuki looked to her side. Neji was surprisingly talking to her.

"There are things to look forward to now." she replied as the next battle was announced.

It was the Sand ninja who grabbed Konohamru by the collar versus another of Kabuto's teammate.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you fight." Neji continued as the two of them kept their eyes on the battle.

"I'm nothing special." she replied.

"I don't talk to just anybody." he said jokingly.

Yuki smiled. It was rare for Neji to make such comments. Somehow, it showed his almost non existent warmth. As they were talking, Kankuro, the Sand ninja, revealed himself to be a puppet master. His work with chakra threads was high standard. Although Yuki was no expert puppeteer, she could tell how skilled he was. He still hasn't shown much of what he could do. He didn't reveal any of his puppets' weapons. He was definitely not to be underestimated.

It was now Sakura's turn. She was pitched against another kunoichi: Ino. She was in Shikamaru's team. They seemed to be friends seeing how Ino helped Sakura in the Forest of Death, but they were also sending each other deadly glares. The battle was not very interesting for Yuki. She quickly got bored. It ended as a tie just like what happened between Kunio and Kenji.

"TENTEN! It's your turn!" yelled Gai and Lee in unison.

Yuki looked over and smiled at Tenten who acknowledged her while gulping down her saliva. She was obviously very nervous. She was pitched against the female kunoichi from the Sand: Temari. Yuki knew how hard Tenten trained to try to keep up with both Lee and Neji. She was a skilled kunoichi. There was no one who could hit a target with a kunai as precisely as she could.

Tenten headed downstairs. The fight was, unfortunately, easily won by Temari. Had it been another opponent, Tenten could've won. Tenten landed on Temari's fan. Temari flashed a smirk and flung Tenten towards the ground. The ground was filled with sharp weapons. Yuki bit her lip and flashed onto the arena and caught Tenten before she hit the ground and got hurt even worse.

Lee and Gai also arrived to the ground floor. They glared at Temari who ignored them completely. She was cold and remorseless about what she could have caused. Yuki handed Tenten over to Lee and Gai to take care off before the medics came and took her to the hospital. Yuki angrily glared at Temari.

"What are you glaring at?" she asked Yuki with a grin on her face.

"A heartless monster."

Temari laughed and kept on walking. She then joined her team. They were congratulating her. Gaara was looking at Yuki, still emotionless. The more Yuki knew about the Sand, the less she liked them. So far, they've been nothing but merciless. However, she somehow felt a connection with Gaara and believed that he wasn't what he seemed to be like. She witnessed his murderous behavior first hand, but a small voice kept telling her there was more to him.

"Maybe I should have withdrawn back when I had the chance." said a familiarly lazy voice.

He was yawning as he reached the battlefield. His hand was in his pocket. He was everything but ready to fight.

"Shouldn't you guys head back upstairs?" he asked Yuki, Lee and Gai.

They nodded and did as told. They could hear him yawn again as they headed back up. Yuki was actually very interested in seeing Shikamaru fight. He never seemed like someone who would become a ninja, but he still did. She couldn't help but wonder who he really was.

"SHIKAMARU! Show her your crazy moves!" yelled Naruto.

Shikamaru was fighting one of the Sound ninja. Her name was Kin. She wasn't very skilled in taijutsu from what Yuki remembered when fighting her. Shikamaru wasn't the type to like combat either. The battle was going to be more interesting that Shikamaru made it seem. He remained calm throughout the whole fight. She attacked him multiple times with senbons. He did not fight back. He instead trapped her with his shadow and made it so she injured herself. It was almost an easy win for him. Yuki was, however, right. He didn't like to fight, nor did he seem to be one to be good in hand to hand combat. He was all about the brain.

"Naruto vs Kiba!" said Hayate as he invited the next two to come down.

Kiba was a dog trainer. He seemed confident that he would defeat Naruto. Naruto was confident in his skills. Their fight lasted for a long time... until Naruto let out some gas and affected Kiba's and his dog's nose and, therefore, his skills. Naruto's willpower was admirable. The fight was entertaining enough. Naruto came out as the winner to everyone's surprise. Yuki couldn't be more pleased with the outcome.

"Neji vs Hinata." announced Hayate.

"This should be fairly quick." said Neji.

He seemed unexcited. His face was awfully serious and dark. Hinata was his cousin. She was from the main family while Neji was from a branch family. The Hyuuga showed much importance to the hierarchy. With all of Neji's potential and talent, he was never to lead nor to learn certain skills. He resented the main family for more than just that. He resented them for the loss of his father. He resented them for sacrificing his father's life for the sake of the main family. He resented them because he forgot what happiness and family meant. All his resentment showed clearly on his face. He looked scary. Hinata couldn't look at him in the eye. The fight was also terrifying. Neji was merciless. He kept on striking Hinata's chakra point. Yuki was upset seeing such abuse. He also degraded Hinata to a complete loser. He belittled her. Yuki just couldn't believe it. It was a facet she had never seen before. She knew of his resentment, but she never imagined it to run so deep. He didn't stop even when he clearly won. Hinata wasn't weak minded like many thought. She refused to surrender. Naruto was encouraging her, so did her teammates. She kept pushing. Kurenai wanted to intervene, but if she did, it meant Hinata lost the battle. There was no way for her to win, but she wasn't out of it yet. Neji kept on striking. His hits were stronger and stronger. Hinata was now coughing out blood. She was standing. She was panting. Neji went in for another strike. It would hit Hinata's heart. It would kill her. Only one who knew about the body as a medical ninja could tell. Yuki couldn't watch any longer. She jumped down, grabbed Neji's arm and moved it away from the direction of Hinata's heart. There was great chakra that was released. At moment, Hinata's knees hit the ground. Kurenai caught Hinata before her head hit the ground.

"What were you trying to do?" Yuki asked Neji angrily. "You could have killed her."

"Just got caught up in the fight." replied Neji as he shook Yuki's hand off of him.

"Neji wins." announced Hayate.

Naruto ran over and grabbed Neji by his collar.

"Oi! How could you do that to her!?" he yelled.

Neji pushed Naruto away and ignored his question.

"OI! I asked you something!"

Neji did not reply and kept on walking.

"I will defeat you at the final rounds! Believe it!" declared Naruto loudly. "To prove to you that hard work is much more than talent, to prove to you that Hinata is the better person, I will defeat you."

Yuki no longer was looking at Neji. She was kneeling down by Hinata's immobile body giving her first aid while waiting for the medics to come over. She was in a precarious state. Her chakra was no longer flowing. It was blocked in too many areas. Yuki was trying to send her chakra into those different areas, but without the mastery of the byakugan that would allow her to see each chakra point clearly, it was merely to keep Hinata alive.

"At least her heart is unaffected." said Yuki to Kurenai.

The medics finally arrived and came to the same conclusion to Yuki. Hinata was quickly taken away to the hospital for intensive care. Everyone went back to the second floor.

"I don't know why you intervened. You always do such unnecessary actions. Can't you see that she was stuck in some kind of alternative reality? She actually believed she had a chance..." said Neji as Yuki regained her spot.

"Can't I see? I clearly saw that she wanted to prove her worth and hard work more than anything. Alternative reality? You are the one who is too blind to see her reality. Who are you to tell her what reality is?" Yuki interrupted him angrily.

He walked away from her, obviously upset at her comment.

"Don't be too upset. Neji... Neji has his own issues he needs to walk out. It's a lot for him to take in now." said Gai to Yuki as he watched Lee take the stage. "Let's focus on Lee's battle now."

Lee was pitched against Gaara. At that moment, Yuki could no longer think about Neji. She was worrying for Lee. She knew he was highly skilled, but Gaara had skills and the intent to kill. When that intent is present, it makes one ten times stronger.

Lee was holding his own quite well. The battle was highly interesting. Lee, however, couldn't get passed Gaara's defense easily. He finally resorted to his Reverse Lotus. It was technique that Yuki only heard about, but never saw Lee perform it. From the looks of it, it would take a toll on Lee's body. It was all or nothing at this point. And when all thought it had succeeded, Gaara came out of it unharmed thanks to his amazing defense. He turned the battle around and tried to crush Lee with his Sand. He managed to get his leg. Lee barely got away.

"Somebody has to stop him! He's going to kill Lee!" yelled Kiba remembering what he witnessed in the Forest of Death.

For some reason, Yuki couldn't help but jump into the battle area to stop the battle from continuing. Lee, at this point, was no longer conscious. Gaara's sand kept creeping up his body. Gaara summoned more sand to finish him off despite Hayate announcing his victory. Yuki stood in front of Lee, confronting Gaara who now, tried to attack Yuki. Before he could do so, Lee stood up. His eyes were closed. Yuki had witnessed this before. His body simply remembered his fighting stance. It was a proof of how hard he had worked. His body was unconsciously ready to fight again. Stunned to see Lee standing up, Gaara stopped his attack and murmured:

"Why..."

The medics came and quickly took Lee away who had now truly collapsed. Gai went along with them.

"Why are there..." kept repeating Gaara seemingly confused as he headed back to his teammates.

Yuki was heading back to her place, but Hayate said:

"Stay here, your battle is next."

She looked to the board. She was paired against Kabuto. She knew very little about him. Looking at his physics, he didn't look like someone who would be highly proficient in taijutsu. She could only assume that he will have some kind of special technique. Her head wasn't fully in the game. She was very worried for Lee. She feared for his recovery. It certainly did not very promising.

"Yuki-san, right? I'm looking forward to fight you."

"Oh. Same." she replied as she stopped daydreaming.

The fight began. Kabuto rushed towards her. She was wrong: he was an adept of hand to hand combat. He was also very good at controlling chakra. His attacks were sharp and fast. Yuki did a good job at dodging everyone of his attack despite the growing pain around her ribs, but hadn't struck back yet.

"GO YUKI!" she heard Naruto yelling.

She kept on avoiding Kabuto's attacks. She managed to increase the distance between them. She used a simple water jutsu, similar to the water dragon Zabuza used. He avoided it easily. From the information she managed to gather so far about Kabuto, he was quite good in taijutsu. He even added a special touch to it. By focusing chakra around his hand, he could extend the area of damage and the strength of his attack. He was also very good at dodging.

"You are a medical ninja, aren't you? Quite a good one as well."

He seemed at little surprise at her statement.

"You definitely are quite skilled at medical ninjutsu if you recognized my skills from these few attacks."

She finally launched a true attack. Ninjutsus were Yuki's strength. She combined her water and wind nature to create ice spikes and sent them flying towards Kabuto, aiming right beside his vital points. It would only paralyze temporally. Before the attack could be completed and raised his arm up and said:

"I forfeit."

Yuki released the spikes. They melted to the ground. She bit her lip. It wasn't right for him to just surrender like that. He could have avoided most of the spikes and continued to fight. Something wasn't right about this battle. Nonetheless, Yuki was declared the winner and was moving on the finals.

She headed back to the second floor where Naruto greeted and kept going on and on about her ice technique. She couldn't focus on what he was saying. She was still confused about Kabuto's sudden surrender. Yuki caught Neji glancing over to her side but he didn't say anything and quickly looked away as their eyes met.

"Final battle, Chouji vs Dosu."

The last battle didn't last for too long. Dosu, the Sound ninja, won the battle easily. He was going to be her opponent for the final round. As uninterested as Yuki was coming into the preliminaries, she was now very invested. She went through a whirlwind of emotions during the preliminaries and, she believed, the finals would be no different.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 18**

* * *

Some small, yet important changes were brought to the original story line in this chapter. Hopefully, it was enjoyable.

Thank you for reading!

xoxox

Krystal


	20. Chapter 19: The Finals

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 19: The Finals**

* * *

 **T** hey only had a few more days before the final rounds. Yuki was set to fight against the only Sound ninja who advanced to the finals. His name was Dosu. He seemed like the oldest of his team. He always showed high levels of confidence. He was somewhat cocky as well. Yuki wanted to find out about him before the battle, but he was nowhere to be found.

Everyone was training very hard, including the infamous lazy Shikamaru. Yuki spent most of her days training as well. She had no one to train with unlike the rest of them. Naruto seemed to be training with one of the Sannins: Jiraiya. She hasn't seen him in the last few days either. Sasuke was also nowhere to be seen, but Yuki knew that he was off somewhere with Kakashi. Shikamaru was training with his whole team. Tenten was helping Neji. Shino also had his whole team minus Hinata helping him out.

At times like this, Yuki did feel a little lonely. Maybe it was because she was starting to form bonds with people here and there, she did start to enjoy having people around her. As she was training by herself, she found herself getting bored. There was only so much she could do.

There was only 1 day left before the final rounds. Once again, Yuki was training by herself. She always trained in isolated areas. It wasn't because she feared being observed, but it was just habit of hers as an ANBU. Although her ANBU's days were behind her now, old habits die hard. She was now rehearsing her ninjutsus. Yuki was proficient in nature transformation. She was proficient in all five basic nature transformation. Her favorites were water and wind. However, her true affinity was to lightning. She only used lightning techniques as a last resort. It wasn't because she wasn't good with them, they were just very destructive. Yuki always disliked unnecessary destruction.

Before she knew it, the battle day came.

The first match was between Naruto and Neji. Although everyone believed Naruto would lose to Neji, Yuki believed in Naruto's willpower and spirit. She was looking onto the battle with the rest of the finalists minus Sasuke and Dosu. They hadn't arrived yet. For some reason, Yuki found it unsettling. Sasuke was definitely with Kakashi and, knowing Kakashi's habits, they would be late to the battle. It was Dosu's absence that was bothering Yuki. From what she knew, he would have arrived earlier than everybody else, ready to fight. He was someone who was eager to fight, perhaps even too eager. As she was lost in her thoughts, she awakened from them as she heard Naruto yell out:

"I, Uzumaki Naruto, will become the Hokage and I will change the Hyuuga for you! I will prove to you that we can take charge of our own destiny!"

Yuki smiled. Naruto wasn't one to make empty promises. He already achieved much more than what people thought he was capable of. With that statement, Naruto charged at Neji despite having his chakra points blocked. It seemed as though he has learned to make use of his Nine-Tail's chakra. Neji seemingly dodged Naruto's attack, however, it was all just a bait. Naruto came from the ground and hit Neji from below. Neji was unable to react in time. With that hit, the match was over. Naruto had won.

The crowd cheered loudly at the unexpected result. Yuki could hear some say how they were impressed by him. Some no longer called him the Nine-Tail Beast. They knew his name. They acknowledged his existence as a ninja. Naruto was no longer seen as a monster by many. He was Uzumaki Naruto. He was someone who could, potentially, become the Hokage. Yuki looked over at the Third who was sitting next to the Kazekage. He was smiling as well.

"I can't believe Naruto won." said Shikamaru as he begun stretching himself. "Now I am really going to have to give my 100%. I can't be seen as a loser, now can I?"

Yuki giggled at that comment.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready? You are next." he asked her as he yawned.

"My opponent is not even here yet..."

Genma, the jounin in charge of the finals, gave her sign to come down to the stadium as well. She sighed. Although she was somewhat excited about the exams, she was mostly excited to watch the battles. She couldn't, however, at this point forfeit. Part of her did not want to lose simply by forfeiting, especially after seeing how hard Naruto was fighting. She could only sigh. She hopped down from where they were onto the stadium's battlefield.

"If your opponent isn't here in 2 minutes, you will win by default." Genma told her as she approached him.

The two minutes went by quickly. There was still no sign of Dosu. People were booing as they were expecting to see a battle happen.

"Yuki is the winner by default." announced Genma. "You can head back up now. Sorry for all the trouble."

Yuki smiled and teleported herself to the platform where Shikamaru was awaiting his turn.

"Great, now my turn has come even faster." he mumbled as he glanced over to his opponent.

It was the Sand kunoichi, Temari. He sighed as he remembered how she fought during the preliminaries. She was a smart kunoichi who never made needless moves. She thought thoroughly each of her actions. Temari also glanced over at Shikamaru.

"Well, good luck." said Yuki to Shikamaru.

"Maybe I should just forfeit now. I mean this exam is getting quite troublesome." he said as he yawned.

Temari did not hear him. She only heard Genma calling her name and so she came down the battle area. Shikamaru didn't move from the platform. Naruto then pushed him off the platform with a huge grin on his face. Shikamaru landed almost head first onto the ground. He did not even bother trying to land on his feet. If there was one person who would be the definition of laziness, Yuki has found him.

He rubbed the dirt and dust off his clothes and cursed at Naruto under his breathe. He then slowly walked over to Genma with a quick nod as a sign that he was ready for battle and so the battle began. Shikamaru used his shadow binding jutsu right at the start and Temari kept backing away until his shadow could no longer reach her. He tried increasing his shadow surface area by using the walls' shadows, but she calculated that distance as well. Temari then went on the offensive by shoving a few of her wind jutsus at Shikamaru, causing quite some damage to the trees in the battle area. Shikamaru then took off his jacket and threw it in the air. As everyone began to wonder how he would now win as he didn't seem like someone who would attack, he managed to capture Temari with his shadow. He used his surrounding, including the hole that Naruto had dug during his battle against Neji, to his advantage.

"Oh yeah!" yelled Naruto. "Shikamaru has won..."

Before he could finish, Shikamaru raised his arm and surrendered. Yuki couldn't help but smile. His chakra was probably depleting and he didn't want to move on to fight once again. He also, most likely, wanted to pretend to be a gentleman and let the lady win. Temari could have won, but, against someone who thought even more thoroughly than she did, she could only face a defeat.

Temari wasn't too happy about Shikamaru's chivalry, if it could be called as such. She headed back to the platform with a frown on her face. She did not want to win that way. Yuki, for some reason, then, found herself having some respect for Temari.

"Shino and Kankuro. It is your turn now." announced Genma.

Shino was about to take the stairs to head down, but Kankuro then yelled out:

"I forfeit!"

Yuki turned her head to look at him. He avoided eye contact with her. Something wasn't right. Kankuro was the type to want to prove himself as well. He was hot headed. She remembered to when he picked a fight with Konohamaru upon his arrival in the village. He wasn't the type to simply surrender.

"Alright. It means it's time for Gaara and Sasuke."

Gaara smirked. He was looking forward to this day. He wanted to fight Sasuke. To be precise, he wanted to fight. He wanted to _kill_. He always had that intent in his eyes. Today was no different. Naruto sensed it too. He avoided eye contact with Gaara. He also kept distance from Gaara.

"It's not like you to be so scared." Yuki said to Naruto.

"I've... talked to him." Naruto started telling her. "He was trying to finish Lee off in the hospital. We managed to stop him. Then he told us that he was a monster. I... You know how I don't want to label someone as a monster, but I truly feel like he is one. No, there's a monster inside of him."

He stopped and clenched onto his shirt.

"He's nothing like you." Yuki said to comfort him.

Naruto looked at her with wide eyes. He didn't know she knew of the Kyuubi.

"How..."

"I can sense that you have two different chakras within you. So does Gaara. However, you are nothing alike. After all, you are not defined by what's inside of you."

He smiled as his fist loosened. He looked down in the battlefield. Gaara was already standing there waiting for Sasuke to arrive. He was nowhere to be seen. Naruto began feeling nervous for his teammate. Many were looking forward to this battle. They were all awaiting Sasuke's arrival. They announced that they would extend the waiting time as everyone really wanted that to be done.

"I'll go walk around." said Yuki. "Who knows how long we will have to wait."

* * *

 **Y** uki wanted to go check on Neji. Since his defeat, she felt uneasy and wanted to go see him. They did not exchange many words, but they somehow still managed to share some of their feelings with each other. Sometimes, there's just a possibility of meeting someone who can understand you, who can share everything with you with a simple facial expression, look or through body language. Neji and Yuki somehow developed that bond unknowingly.

There was a small room in the arena where the wounded could get treated. Neji was most likely there. The door to the room opened and the head of the Hyuuga's family came out from it. He had a dark expression on his face, but his body language showed some relief. His eyes met Yuki's and he smiled as he left the door open for her to go inside. Inside, Neji was staring outside the window with a much brighter expression then she has ever seen him have. There was a paper on the ground. Yuki grabbed it. It was signed by Neji's father. It was letter to Neji.

"I feel like all my doubts and fears have suddenly just flown away." said Neji as his eyes were still locked on the sky where many birds were travelling.

"You had doubts and fears?" asked Yuki jokingly.

He looked at her. His face was indeed brighter. He no longer had that dark expression on his face. He no longer had that expression of someone who was caged and held down by a curse, a destined life.

"Naruto, he is an interesting person, isn't he?" Yuki asked him.

Neji nodded.

"He helped me realize many things I've long hid away before I feared facing them and understanding them."

"He does tend to have that _power_."

Neji walked towards Yuki.

"Thank you for coming."

Yuki blushed slightly as she was taken aback from those words. Neji was never one to say thank you. She did not know how to reply to that. She did not know why he was thankful for her presence. Yuki tried to avoid that awkward conversation:

"Should we head back out? I heard some loud cheering a few minutes ago. I think Sasuke's battle has began."

He smiled as he noticed how uncomfortable Yuki suddenly became. He led her to the door. As they were about the cross the door frame, they heard a loud explosion sound and many people yelling for help. They exchanged looks and quickly rushed to the main arena's area. The walls were destroyed and people were put to sleep by some kind jutsus. Many jounins and chuunins from Konoha were in the midst of fighting Sand and Sound shinobis. Above, on the roof where the Kazekage and the Hokage were sitting, there was some sort of violet barrier.

"Byakugan. The Hokage is in that barrier fighting against some man that strangely looks like the snake you fought in the forest." he told Yuki.

"Orochimaru..." Yuki murmured.

At the corner of her eye, she spotted some other ninjas kidnapping an unconscious Hinata. She pointed it out to Neji.

"Neji. Someone is kidnapping your cousin!"

He quickly rushed over to the area. Yuki did not follow him. She believed he was good enough to deal with that issue. It wasn't her priority issue anyway. She headed to the barrier where the Third was trapped.

As she got there, there was already a team of ANBU there. They looked at her and, as they recognized her, briefed her on the current situation:

"The Kazekage was a fake. It was Orochimaru all along. He took the Hokage into this strange barrier. We've tried everything, we haven't been able to break through. If we touch it, we just get engulfed in flames. He's been fighting in there for a while now. We want to assist him, but..."

"If I am not mistaken, this is the infamous Four Violet Flames Formation." said Yuki as her worries began rising as well. "It can only be undone from the inside, which means the Hokage would have to defeat Orochimaru first and then one of the four shinobis who performed the jutsu."

As she said so, a thick dense forest rose from the roof preventing them to see the battle any further. Such wood manipulation could only be...

"The First?" said Yuki in astonishment. "How..."

"We have data saying that Orochimaru was working on summoning from the dead..."

They were interrupted by loud explosions' sounds and earthquake-like vibrations. Yuki clenched her fists and bit her lip until it bled. She did not even realized it had happened. Could it be that the final round of the Chuunin exam was actually the final scene of Konoha's story? She did not want to believe so, but the odds weren't great.

"How many are able to fight right now?"

"We have around 6000 shinobis in the village right now on top of the 500 ANBUs. We have many genins who would be able to fight, but, to hold their own..."

"What about the Root? Have they been made aware of the situation?" asked Yuki as she was still trying to see through the dense forest created by seemingly the First Hokage's summon.

"We haven't seen any of them, but I am certain they are aware of it."

Yuki cursed under her breath. She should have known that the Root wouldn't take action at such a time. However, they had over a thousand skilled shinobi who could help overturn the current situation while the Hokage fought Orochimaru.

"I'll go talk to Danzo."

"Yuki, you know you won't get through to him. He probably wishes that the Third..."

"Don't you dare say that word." said Yuki firmly. She didn't want to think that the Third could possibly die. "Danzo is a rational man. If he does want to rule, he still wouldn't want to rule over ruins, a few thousands and dead people."

Yuki looked at the barrier one last time.

"And if he is unwilling to help, I will do all that I can to prevent the downfall of my village."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 19**

* * *

 **T** hank you for reading!

xoxox

Krystal


	21. Chapter 20: Tears of Snow

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Tears of Snow**

* * *

 **T** he Root's headquarters was dark and cold. It was hidden away. It was always isolated from whatever was happening in the village. During this time of utter chaos, it was no different. Not many knew where it was. It was deep down under the village. Yuki often brought messages from the Hokage to Danzo, the leader of this branch of ANBUs. She knew, better than anybody else, her way around the Root's headquarters.

She was greeted by a Root ANBU upon her arrival. He seemed to be about her age judging by his height and voice. He had very pale skin and dark hair. Although she couldn't see his face, she did not doubt for one second that he had no facial expression. It was part of the traits that most Root ANBU had.

"It's an emergency. I need to see Danzo now."

"He is not here at the moment." the ANBU replied.

"Is he not now?" asked Yuki sarcastically as she tried to push the shinobi aside. He did not move one inch.

"I will take a message for him."

"Move."

"I will take a message for him."

"Fine. We need you to help us fight against the invaders and I am not asking for his permission. I demanding that help."

"We would help, but we did not receive an order from Danzo-sama to do so."

"The village is being destroyed as we are speaking and you are waiting for Danzo's order to do so? That is the biggest piece of crap I've heard all day. Move, I'll make him give that order."

"As I said, he is not here at the moment. I will let him know of your request when I see him"

"Ha, as if! He probably heard me already. This is probably your actual mission: to stay put and not get involved with the village's problems."

"Why should we get involved if we haven't been ordered to do so?" the ANBU asked Yuki as she turned around ready to go fight.

"Because this is your village too."

She left the headquarters, angry that she seemingly had just wasted her time.

* * *

 **S** he was now back at the arena where she spotted Kakashi alongside with Gai against dozens of Sound shinobis. She knocked a few out on her way to talk to Kakashi. She did not hold back at all. She was usually one who controlled her emotions well. However, she no longer could at that point. Her blood was boiling because she was unsure of whether this village would survive or not. She remembered how at one point she did not care much for the village. She felt like it was some sort of prison holding her in. Yet now, she can call it home. She remembered that conversation she once had with the Third. She then glanced over at the barrier again. It was still up. It had to mean that the Hokage was still alive... so was Orochimaru. As she was distracted for a second, a ninja plunged towards her with a katana at great speed. Kakashi deviated his trajectory with a kick and allowed Yuki to have some time to move out of the way.

"Don't start daydreaming now." he told her.

They dodged a few attacks and went on the offensive.

"I heard you went to see Danzo. Seeing how frustrated you are, he must have said no."

"I didn't even get to see him. I was stopped at the door. I couldn't allow myself to waste anymore time, so I came here right away."

"I mean, you can fight like 100 men."

"I don't know if that's enough though."

"Whether it is enough or not, all we can do now is give it our best."

"That's the best thing I've heard from you since we started, Kakashi!" yelled out Gai. "Yuki, we can handle the situation here. You should head to the main gate. We got news that they were in need of some help. A three headed snake is ravaging through the village from that gate. There's not enough men there right now as there are infiltrators everywhere..."

Yuki disappeared before he could finish.

"That was quick." said Gai to Kakashi.

"She could have gotten there faster if she wasn't trying to be polite and listen to you." he replied.

* * *

 **Y** uki arrived at the main gate. It had been taken down. The walls were nothing more than stacked pebbles. There was dust everywhere and a disgusting scent of blood lingering in the area. This was when Yuki wished she was as proficient in medical ninjutsu as Tsunade. There were still a few battles happening upon her arrival. Most of the enemies have already ventured deeper into the village. Yuki immediately came to the aid of the few that were still battling the foreign invaders. As they finally won the battle, Yuki then moved on to healing the superficial wounds that the shinobis had. They briefed her on the situation:

"We were guarding as usual when this giant snake attacked us. It had three heads. We couldn't defeat it, so we called for reinforcement. However, before they came, Sand shinobis and Sound shinobis began to attack us as well. We just weren't enough men."

"It was a mess at the stadium too." Yuki told them. "We really are short on help right now."

"Who would have thought the Sand would betray us."

"I don't think they were aware of the situation. Something tells me Orochimaru alone is behind all of this. You should be fine now. The wounds are closed, but you are in no condition to fight. Your mission is now to ensure the safety of the villagers. Help everyone get to the bunkers."

"And you?"

"I'll go deal with that snake. I've never been a huge fan of them."

She rushed off towards where the snake was ravaging through the village. Many tried to tie it down, but they were unsuccessful. The only way to fight such a large summoning creature was to summon a large creature ourselves. Yuki knew how to summon at a very young age. Although it was by accident at first, she was now able to summon easily and had developed a strong bond with her summoning animal. She gave sign for the other ANBUs who recognized her to move away, she bit on her thumb and summoned her trusted white friend.

"Yuki... You know snakes are rabbits natural predators, right?" the rabbit asked her the moment he was summoned.

"But you both aren't exactly _natural_ , right?"

"Ha, you're right. So I just have to defeat him?"

"While trying not to cause anymore damage?"

"You are asking too much."

"Can I leave this to you, then? I might be needed else where."

"Go on ahead. I'll return to my safe little nest once I'm done here."

"Call for me if there's anything." said Yuki as she left in direction of the stadium once again.

For some reason, Yuki kept on feeling tightness around her chest. She fought a few Sound shinobis on her way there, but her head wasn't in the battle. She finished them off quickly. She also protected a few villagers from falling bricks and buildings' structures. She instructed them to head to the bunkers. She made sure they found a safe route and were guided by some Leaf's shinobis. She did everything she could, but her mind was still wandering off. The tightness in her chest kept increasing as she got closer to the stadium. She felt uneasy about the situation inside the barrier that trapped the Third Hokage. It wasn't undone yet. The battle was certainly still going on. It somehow reassured her. It meant that the Hokage was still alive. He was still fighting. However, she also felt useless as she was unable to come inside and assist him. She did not want to teleport there right away. She could have, but she believed that fighting a few invaders on her way could help the village a little bit. It wasn't wrong for her to think so. She, so far, has saved quite a few lives and defeated quite a few shinobis.

A few ninjas then blocked her way. It was three against one. The odds were not in her favor, but when were they anyway? She quickly cleared her path by using a large scale water ninjutsu. Yuki always took pride in her ninjutsu and the speed at which she was able to form seals. The enemies rarely had enough time to act against her. However, she has been using quite a few large scale ninjutsus. She was becoming weary. Unknowingly, her eyes began to change in order to allow her to keep up with her current state.

She hated it when those eyes changed. She did not take pride in their abilities. She considered them a burden more than anything. To her, they were like scars, reminding her of the pain she has been through. While some may think that they are a symbol of power, to her, they were symbolic of loss and despair. Nonetheless, in a situation like this, they helped. Her weariness was somewhat relieved and she could proceed to the stadium with the speed and strength that was needed.

She was now only a few meters away. There were still many ninjas blocking her way. Some looked at her in shock. Her eyes were the reason for them to be shocked. Nobody knew of her existence and of the existence of her eyes. If someone did find out, they were now dead. It didn't take long before those who were in disbelief were also killed. It was her secret. It was the secret she wanted to seal away. However, it always revealed itself. That secret could lead to her death.

As she finished her little battles here and there, she glanced over at the stadium once again. The barrier was now gone. She heard some cheering from behind her. It seemed like the snake was gone as well. She should feel relieved. It probably meant that Orochimaru was defeated. However, the tightness around her chest came back. She bit her lip and flashed herself right on top of the roof where the barrier was previously set.

Orochimaru was supported by his subordinates. He was unable to move. He seemed paralyzed and depleted of energy. The Third was there at his feet. A seal was on his body. Yuki recognized that seal. Tears began filling her eyes as she knelt down next to the Third's lifeless body. Other ninjas, including Kakashi and Gai, charged at Orochimaru, but he disappeared with his subordinates.

"That seal..." said Kakashi as he placed his forehead protector over his Sharingan eye.

It was over. The attack on Konoha was over. The enemies were pushed back and defeated. Orochimaru was incapacitated. Yuki held on to the Third's hand. It had gone cold. Her tears began to roll down her cheeks. The sky cried along with her. The village heard of the news. They cried along with her.

It was a long, cold and snowy day just like when he had found her.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 20**

* * *

Thank you for reading!

xoxox

Krystal


	22. Chapter 21: A Blank Space

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 21: A Blank Space**

* * *

 **S** he woke up that morning with a heavy heart. Her eyes were swollen from all the tears she had shed over the past few days. She did not attend his funeral. She couldn't bear to see his tombstone. She hasn't left her room in the last few days. She stayed in with all the curtains closed. She couldn't bear to see the sunlight. It reminded her of his warmth. She wasn't able to eat. Every single time she tried to eat, her throat would close up. She began to shed tears again. Her body always felt cold. She felt soulless. There were a few who knocked on her door, but she did not answer. She stayed curled up in her bed. This morning, she did not cry. She wasn't able to cry anymore. She was dehydrated from all the water in her body. She tried to get up from her bed, but she barely could stand up. She felt dizzy. Her eyes had gone blurry. She managed to make her way to the sink in the bathroom. She stumbled a little bit here and there, but she made it. She leaned closer towards the mirror. Her eyes were very red. Her eyes were filled with sadness. They were no longer crying, but they were sadder than ever.

Yuki washed her face. She tied her hair in a tight bun. She grabbed her ANBU mask and a hooded cloak. She put on her mask right away. She cloaked herself and slipped on her shoes. She then left her house after locking the door. She headed towards the village's cemetery. On her way, she picked a few white daisies. They had just grown after the rain that followed the Hokage's death. She finally made it to the cemetery. His tomb was now there among the tombs of the past Hokages. Yuki often came to the cemetery because it reminded her of her _birth_. It was her first time there to mourn someone's death. She walked towards his tombstone with heavy steps. As she got closer, she slowed down. The moment she would leave the flowers on his tombstone, he would really be dead in her mind. As she got closer, the tears she thought she no longer had began pouring down again. She stopped a few steps away from his stone. An unknown and unseen force stopped her from getting any closer. She could only stare and cry, just like back then. She knew she wasn't to be blamed, but she blamed herself. If only she was stronger, if only she knew better, maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't have died. That's what she thought. She knew it was silly of her, but she still thought in that manner.

She stood there for a good hour waiting for her tears to dry and for her heart to strengthen. Her mind felt somewhat ready, but her heart wasn't and, as though it controlled her eyes, she kept feeling the tears roll down her cheeks. Her hands were holding on tightly to the daisies as though they were him. Her hands began shaking. Her hands began feeling cold. Then, someone held onto them and warmed them and stopped them from trembling.

"I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to come." said a familiar voice.

His voice was reassuring, filled with warmth. She looked up so that her hood wouldn't cover his face. It was Neji. He was looking straight ahead at the Hokage's tomb. His hands were really warm. His presence made her feel a little bit more at ease. Her tears began to stop falling as well. Her heart stopped hurting a little bit. It was still heavy. Her throat still felt closed up. However, everything seemed to start clearing up a little.

"I'm sure he would prefer to see you without your mask as well." Neji said still looking straight ahead.

Yuki looked down to the ground. What Neji said was true. However, the mask protected her. She felt like she, then, didn't have to face his death. She did not feel ready, but the Third would, indeed, want to see her face. He would wish for her to be able to move on and smile. He wouldn't want her to cry endlessly. He would want her to be able to let go. She let go with one hand of the daisies and brought it up to her face. She then slowly took her mask off. She dropped it to the ground. She also pulled her hood off. She loosened her hair. She then tried to take a step forward. She felt dizzy again. Neji was still holding her hand and helped her steady herself. He then pulled her forward. With his help, she managed to walk forward and stand right in front of the Third's tomb.

"Everyone left a space there for you to place your flowers. Kakashi told us how much you meant to the Third."

The tomb stone was filled with white carnations. Right in the center, they left her a blank and empty spot to place her flowers. She placed the daisies delicately there.

"He always liked daisies. He said they were the happiest looking flowers." she said. It was the first time she had opened her mouth in days. She had almost forgotten her own voice.

Her voice was very weak. It was kind of shaky as well. Her throat felt dry with just those few words.

"The Third, I am sure, is smiling in heaven. He finally got to see you. He received the daisies you carefully picked for him." said Neji gently.

"Although I know that, it still hurts here." she said as she placed her hand on her chest.

"Just know that he left with a smile. He left knowing that he protected the village and can entrust it to people who can also protect it. You, me and all the other shinobis..."

Yuki nodded. She took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and sent her prayers to the Third wherever he might be. It was the lightest she had felt in the last few days. The hole that was in her heart the last few days was filled by Neji's words and warmth. She never thought that Neji would be the one to heal her wounds, but he did. He did it so easily too. He smiled as he sensed her soul coming back to her. She opened her eyes. She smiled weakly. She couldn't fully smile just yet. However, it was, nonetheless, a smile.

"I'll come visit you often." she murmured to where the Third's body was resting.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 21**

* * *

Another filler chapter. There was a need for Yuki's relationship with the Third's to be tied without loose ends.

Thank you for reading.

xoxox

Krystal


	23. Chapter 22: The Reveal

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 22: The Reveal**

* * *

 **M** any days had now gone by. The village was still undergoing much needed construction and repairs. Rumors kept sparking up about different people taking the title of the Hokage. Many thought that Danzo would be the obvious choice. However, to Yuki's knowledge and delight, he was not going to be the new leader of Konohagakure. Since the incident, Yuki despised deeply the Root and their leader.

Yuki spent most of her days in the hospital by Lee's side. His injuries after the battle against Gaara were severe. Not a single medic could find a way to heal him properly. He was most likely going to be bedridden for the rest of his life. It was something that Lee would never accept. He would rather die, knowing him, than be incapacitated. Despite his injuries, he still tried to keep up with his training. Seeing him in such state broke Yuki's heart. However, there was nothing that she could do. She was only there to relief the pain immediately every time he would fall during his attempt to get back in shape. His teammates and Gai would spend a lot of time by his side as well. The other genins would also visit frequently, except for Sasuke. He, contrarily to everybody else, distanced himself from the group. He grew colder as he isolated himself. Naruto was also not present. He had just left with Jiraiya to look for someone. That someone, if they believed Jiraiya's words, would be able to put Lee back onto his feet. That someone would also be able to put Konoha back onto its foundation.

* * *

 **O** n the day Naruto had just left, Yuki wandered the street and observed the houses being rebuilt slowly, but surely. As she walked by the river, she suddenly sensed a great amount of chakra surge south from where she was. There was no doubt that a fight was occurring within the village's perimeter. She quickly headed over only to feel chills down her spine. She couldn't be wrong. It was definitely his chakra. _Itachi_. She rushed over finding Asuma, Kurenai and Kakashi fighting against Itachi and another man. He was unfamiliar to her, but judging from the weapon he was using, he had to be Kisame.

Both Asuma and Kurenai had their eyes closed. Kakashi was using his sharingan against Itachi, but he seemed like he was stunned in one place. _Tsukiyomi_. There was fear and pain in Kakashi's eye. It was something that Yuki had never witnessed before coming from a man who is usually so calm and collected. As those thoughts wandered into her mind, Yuki noticed that Kisame was headed for a kill towards Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai. Without thinking twice, Yuki jumped into the battle, creating a powerful wave that pushed Kisame back a few feet away from the three jounins.

"Not bad, kid. However, I would run away if I were you. You don't want to have a taste of my Samehada." Kisame said as the wave that hit him subsided.

"I wouldn't underestimate her, Kisame. She's stronger than she appears." Itachi warned him.

Yuki looked over at Itachi. She really wanted to talk to him. She wanted him to look at her in the eyes and tell her all the truth. She knew the truth, but she wanted to hear it from him. He wouldn't even look in her direction.

"Then I guess this battle should be fairly interesting!" said Kisame as he dived towards her swinging his big sword in her direction.

He was fast. He had both strength and speed. Because she was distracted, Yuki barely dodged the attack. She knew that in a battle of strength against such an opponent, she would surely lose. However, as she dodged the fatal blow, she noticed that he had switched target and was going for Asuma and Kurenai who still had their eyes closed, unaware of the current situation. Yuki teleported herself to their side, pushed them out of the way, blocking the Samehada with a katana.

"It will eat you alive, kid." said Kisame with a grin on his face. "Your hands are also occupied, so no ninjutsu this time to fight back."

He wasn't wrong. The sword got larger and its blades grew closer to her face. Both her hands were holding the katana to push the Samehada back. The blades slowly grazed her arms as they grew hungrier for blood. Yuki felt the sword slowly sucking the life out of her. The pain of the wounds were not as remarkable as the fact that she was slowly losing consciousness. She closed her eyes for a second. She could hear Kisame's chuckle resonate in her ear. She opened her eyes then. They had changed. Despite the fact that she hated that pair of eyes, it was necessary now to use them in order to save the people she cared about.

Kisame looked at her in disbelief. He backed away and called out Itachi:

"I thought no one survived except for your brother."

Itachi finally looked over at Yuki. His face, usually so emotionless, had a small distortion. Although still hard to tell what he was thinking, there was definitely something different occurring inside his brain and heart. Yuki stood there, staring back at him, blood dripping down her hands from the wounds made by the Samehada. The blood mixed into the water, creating a red pool around her.

"You used to look so innocent." said Itachi.

"I lost that innocence when I realized what had happened that night." she replied, not losing eye contact.

"Had I known, I would have ended your life as well."

"Really?" Yuki asked coldly. "The Itachi..."

"Kisame, I think backup are coming. We were supposed to do this quietly. Let's just go. The Kyuubi isn't here." he said interrupting what Yuki was about to say. He knew too well what she wanted to say. He didn't want to hear it.

As he said those words, Kakashi was released from his frozen body and started collapsing into the water. Gai, out of nowhere, came into the picture to catch him in his fall. Seeing that more people were arriving on the scene, Kisame gave Itachi a nod, glanced at Yuki one last time and they both disappeared.

"I'm going after them." said Yuki as she readied herself for the pursuit.

"You are not." Gai said angrily.

"Who are you to tell me what to do!?" Yuki exploded out of character.

Asuma walked over to her side. He put his hand on her shoulder. She brushed his hand off, biting down on her lip. He didn't try any further.

"Yuki, you owe us some explanation first before leaving." said a voice weakly.

Kakashi had awoken, barely enough to say those few words. For some reason, his voice always calmed her down. Her eyes went back to its original form. The tightness in her jaw loosened and her fists were undone.

"I don't know what to tell you." she said softly.

"Let's get you both healed first." Kurenai suggested.

Yuki had no choice but to accept as the pain from the wounds seeped into her bones and the guilt ate her up inside.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 22**

* * *

 **T** hank you so much for reading.

For those who read this a while back, I am back, ready to finish this story. My sincerest apologies for making you wait.

Many things lead to this late update. However, I will be updating more frequently.

Let me know what you thought of the story in the comments!

xox

Krystal


	24. Chapter 23: Lesson Learnt

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 23: Lesson learnt**

* * *

 **T** hey expected answers from her. They didn't bombard her with questions. They didn't report her to the authority either. That would probably be unnecessary anyway. To their knowledge, their every move would be observed and noted by ANBU. However, they were not the ones to fear. It was the Root. After Yuki caused a scene at the Root headquarter during the attack upon Konoha, she was certain that she was being followed by the Root. On top of that event, she was close to the Third and she used to be an ANBU that somehow ended up participating in the Chuunin exam.

"I don't know what to tell you." murmured Yuki as Kakashi was being examined by the medics at the hospital.

"When did it first appear?" asked Kakashi in a tired voice.

"The night of the Uchiha massacre."

"Are you..."

"Related to the Uchiha? I must be, but I wouldn't know."

There was then a silent. They knew she was found years ago in the snow, abandoned and alone. She knew nothing of the ancestors. It was a dumb question. It was also a hurtful question as it reminded her that she was not actually part of a real family.

"Why did you not come forth about it?" asked Kurenai softly.

"I really hate the color of these eyes. Their existence is a nuisance and a burden. They are the source of destruction and fatality. I... I want nothing to do with any of that."

"Did anybody know about it?"

"The Third and Tsunade-sama. Oh, and most likely Jiraiya as well."

"Have you mastered it?" asked Kakashi.

"No. It usually appears as needed. For example, when I'm in danger, it will automatically appear as a defense mechanism. I... I usually try to suppress it rather than practice with it. It saves me, but it also exhausts me."

"So you fight against yourself..."

"...yes."

"No wonder it drains your energy." commented Asuma. "Ha, but that Itachi did not see that coming, now did he? He probably didn't expect another Uchiha to be alive."

"I'm not an Uchiha. I'm not part of such clan." coldly said Yuki.

"Itachi..." they all heard a young boy's voice say in the background.

They were all so distracted by their conversation, none of them heard him coming into the room. Sasuke was standing at the door, seemingly shaken. His eyes were filled with anger. His fists were clenched tightly and his jaw was rigid. He was breathing heavily. His heart was probably pumping more blood than he would ever need. Before anybody else could say something, Gai, still in corridor, unaware of the situation, said loudly:

"I sent a message to give Jiraiya and Naruto a heads up that Itachi was coming for them..."

He stopped as he saw Sasuke standing there in anger. Without saying anything else, he pushed Gai aside and started running out of the hospital. Yuki got on her feet to go after him:

"I'll stop him."

"Oi! You still need to be treated for your wounds!" Kurenai yelled.

"Later!" replied Yuki as she was already out the window. It was much faster this way.

* * *

 **Y** uki didn't have to run too far nor too fast to catch up with Sasuke. He was in full speed, running without really knowing where he was headed. As she caught up with him, she tried to grab him to stop him from running like a mad horse. She finally held on to his wrist. He shrugged her off.

"Don't make me fight you." he threatened her.

"It wouldn't be much of a fight." said Yuki.

They had now reached the borders of the village. Sasuke stopped at those words. Yuki knew that he would never allow anyone to put him down. It was her only way and opportunity of stopping him.

"What do you think you are going to do if and when you do find Itachi? Challenge him?"

"I will avenge my clan." Sasuke replied confidently.

"Right... with what?"

"I'll show you."

He charged at her with a ball of lightning chakra in his hand. He was fast, but there were too many weak points Yuki could attack to turn the attack against him. He was also blind to his surrounding, only seeing the target. However, his target, Yuki, was agile and could too easily move to any area in his surroundings. She slid under his arm and lightly pushed his arm upward making him take a few steps back and losing focus and stopping the concentration of chakra in his hand. Frustrated, he threw out a few shurikens in her direction that she deflected with a single movement using her trusted katana.

"I still haven't seen anything." said Yuki to spite him.

He let out a cry and rushed towards her holding a kunai in his hand. He was fighting to kill. She was fighting to show him that he wasn't ready to go after his older just yet. Besides, she felt like Itachi would rather not see him at this early on. It would hurt Itachi to have to harm his defenseless beloved younger brother. Every time Sasuke would put his all in the fight, Yuki would be increasingly nonchalant in her movements.

"Who are you?" said Sasuke as he began to feel tired of this never-ending battle.

"We've met before. I'm Yuki."

"You know what I mean. Stop being an annoyance and tell me. I don't believe a Genin can have such skills."

"I am not a genin. You are right about that. I never even officially graduated from the Academy."

"Give me a straight answer!" he bellowed.

"I did. I'm Yuki."

He got annoyed at that and tried to strike again. Yuki finally decided that it was enough. She had toyed with him enough.

"Your lightning technique was interesting, but flawed. It's still impressive for a Genin though. Let me teach you how you really manipulate lightning."

It was one of the technique she rarely had to use. It was one that she would only use in the most dire situations. She just wanted to make him scared, impressed and come to the realization that he wasn't ready to take whatever action he wanted to take. He might be a prodigy among his pairs, but, to the outside world, he was still just a puny ninja with a prestigious family name that his brother fought so hard to preserve. She wanted to tell him that so much, but she knew that Itachi probably had different intentions. She did not know of them, but she believed the conflict was best left in the hands of those who initiated it and who had to deal with its consequences.

"When you can manipulate lightning into a definite shape and form, I will then believe that you have a chance against Itachi."

As she said it, two lightning chakra whips emerged from her hands. She clasped her fingers around the handles as if they existed and swung the whips around cutting every tree in the surrounding area. The cuts were clean as if the trees were soften butter and a knife just went right through them.

"I don't care if I have a chance against him now. I'm just grasping the chance of finding him."

"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

"He is right here under my nose and you want me to just stay here, pretend he didn't come by?"

"Yes."

"He's after my friend!"

"Naruto will be protected."

"What if he isn't!?"

Yuki chuckled: "You actually think I believe you care for Naruto right now? I've watched you Sasuke Uchiha. You wouldn't care if he died at Itachi's hand. It would just give you another excuse to go after him. You don't care about anyone but yourself. You think that Itachi is monster, but I think the real monster is in front of me right now."

Sasuke tried to charge head first at Yuki. The simple movement of her lifting her lightning whip us stopped him and made him back away.

"You can't even defeat a dropout like me, yet you want to fight Itachi?"

"You are not a dropout. I can tell." he said as he slowly regained his composure and senses. "I... I really think of Naruto as a friend."

"I don't doubt that. I just don't think you should use that as the main reason why you want to go after Itachi."

Yuki undid her jutsu as she saw Sasuke's anger dissipate.

"Go now." she then told him.

"What?"

"Find him. Just don't let the anger eat you up again."

"I don't..."

"Why do you think I came and not the other jounins?"

"You..."

"Go. Get your answers. Don't get hurt and come back to the village."

He nodded and left the village. His face was seemingly confused as he left. Yuki was indeed a weird character. However, she was wise. She knew that if he headed over with boiling blood, he would only end up injuring himself to a point of no return. She also wanted to see an humane side appear within Sasuke. She did. Calling Naruto a friend was a big step Sasuke. Although he did have ulterior motive, those words _Naruto as a friend_ were genuine. He felt those words. Whether he said those words only to convince her or not, they were an automatic response, meaning that he truly felt that he had a friend in Naruto. That's all she needed to know, that's all she needed Sasuke to realize.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 23**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter!

As always, remember to write up a review so that I can improve & make sure the story is progressing nicely.

xox

Krystal


	25. Chapter 24: Wasted Words

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 24: Wasted Words**

* * *

 **L** etting him go was not a well received decision by the others. Yuki had to reason with them for a long time before they could somewhat understand why she did what she did. She was praying that Sasuke would be mature and wise enough to follow her words. Part of her feared that he wouldn't. At the same time, she knew that, regardless of whether she allowed him to seek out Itachi or not, that day would eventually come. Knowing that he would most likely come across Itachi when one of the legendary Sannins would be present, it ensured Sasuke's safety.

The next day, Yuki sat by the window in Lee's room quietly, looking out into the hospital's yard. Lee wasn't in his bed. He was in the yard, trying to stand up on his two feet. Gai was by his side, encouraging him and giving him all the hope that he needed to keep on trying. They were loud enough that, with the windows closed, Yuki could hear most of their conversation. It was sunny outside. The rays of sun caressed Yuki's cheeks through the glass. They also put her to sleep. She slowly felt her lids becoming heavier and heavier. Her body felt calm and relaxed. It slowly fell asleep. Her head tilted to the side. Slowly, she felt herself falling. Her head then hit a surface. It wasn't the ground.

"You must really be tired to not have felt me coming into the room."

"Neji..."

Her head was resting against his shoulder. She quickly straightened her neck. She stood up abruptly and stretched her arms and back awkwardly.

"Visiting Lee?" she then asked.

"And Hinata."

"How is she?"

"She just got discharged."

"That's good to hear."

"How are your injuries?"

"They were just minor injuries."

"Is that why they are still all wrapped up?" he asked as he grabbed onto her wrist.

Yuki quickly pulled her hand away. She pouted. Her arms were, indeed, still feeling the pain from the blades that entered her flesh. For a reason or another, they didn't quite heal properly. She blamed it on the fact that she did not tend to her wounds immediately or on the fact that weapon in question sucked out her chakra at those locations.

"Wounds take time to heal, you know..." she said.

Neji chuckled. Yuki always acted so mature for a age. Sometimes, he forgot that she was younger than him and was still, after all, just a child. He sat down on Lee's hospital bed and signaled her to come take a seat next to him. At first, Yuki was a little reluctant. Something about the atmosphere was a little awkward. She couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong. However, she had no reason to refuse and, so, she sat down next to him. Both facing the window, they sat there quietly and witnessed the beautiful sunset that was taking place in front of their eyes.

Although such a majestic and peaceful scene was present in front of Yuki, she, all of the sudden, felt uneasy. Her heart started pounding through her chest and her breathing became irregular. As she brought her hand to her chest to massage her heart, Neji saw the agony in her eyes. His worry for her grew. He went out to seek a medic to help. As he swung the door open, a bed was passing by in the corridor.

"Yuki. Can you stand? You might want to be here." Neji said as calmly as possible to not add on to Yuki's sudden increase of heart rate.

Yuki rushed outside of the room. Sasuke was being rolled away on a bed. As she felt her legs going numb, she grabbed on the Neji's arm and leaned on him.

"I thought he understood..." she murmured.

"Don't worry too much. He's alive. His chakra flow is intact." said Neji.

"He is in the same state as Kakashi." said a voice from across the hall. It was Gai. "I talked to the medics and confirmed it. I guess he did meet Itachi. Apart from a few scratches here and there, he is physically fine. He will eventually wake up."

"I shouldn't have let him go after his brother." said Yuki as she still was blaming her inadequate response to the situation.

"You tried. Nobody knew what to do." Gai said, trying to comfort her.

Yuki shook her head and she finally regained control of her body. She thanked Neji for allowing her to use him as support. She slowly took a deep breathe and regained control of its rhythm. She followed the medics to the room next door where Sasuke would be resting. Neji just watched her disappear into the room. His arm still stiff from allowing her to grab onto him. He lingered in the moment as she had now moved on to care for another, at least in his eyes. He looked at Gai who had noticed that something was different about the Neji standing next to him.

"I won't say much, nor assume that I know what's going on here, but it's not what you are thinking, Neji."

"Sensei... what are you insinuating?"

"Do you want to me to say it out loud?"

"What..."

"You like her, don't you? More than just a friend, that is."

"I..."

"Neji. I might be a little aloof at times, if not most of the time. However, I know my students well. I know you wouldn't look at someone with that expression if you didn't care."

"Sensei..."

Gai got closer to Neji's ear and whispered:

"Trust me, she doesn't like Sasuke in that way. Don't be jealous."

"I'm not!" Neji said loudly before stopping himself in shock.

"Let's just say I said too much then." Gai said with a smirk on his face as he waved goodbye and headed over to Kakashi's room to update him.

* * *

Inside, Yuki was too concerned with Sasuke's situation to hear anything that was being said in the corridor. As the medics gave her a rundown of his current state, Sasuke slowly opened his eyes and glared at Yuki. The glare was, however, weak. His eyes were glassy and had even less life than his usual self. The medics tried to get responses from him, but he couldn't really speak. He was stuck between a state of sleepiness and awakening. Yuki took a quick look at his medical charts. She was then surprised by the sudden entrance of Sakura who had tears in eyes. Sakura saw nothing in her way and just collapsed onto Sasuke's bed.

"He is just asleep. He will be fine."

"How is he fine? I can clearly see that he isn't!" Sakura said angrily. "Why are you here anyways? I heard you were supposed to stop him, but instead, you let him face a fatal danger. You allowed him to confront someone who wants his life!"

"You need to calm down..." began Yuki.

"Calm down?! How can I?!"

"Nobody could've..."

"Everybody knew it was a bad idea except for you! Oh, but wait... it's not like you care! You are not our friend. We don't even know you! So stop acting like you are!"

Yuki suddenly felt her blood boiling at those comments. _Didn't care?!_ If someone cared, it would be Yuki. She, despite her young age, did everything in her ability to allow Sasuke to have a comfortable life. That decision, even though at the moment she did blame herself, was inevitable at the moment. She cared to believe that Sasuke would come to his senses, understand the danger that he would put himself in. _Didn't care, she said._

"Right... I'm not your friend. I must have wasted my time and words on Sasuke then. You stay here with him them. Make sure her doesn't run away. CARE for him." said Yuki as she stormed out the room.

 _Didn't care_. Those words kept resonating in her head. Perhaps, it wasn't that she didn't care. It was rather that she cared too much. She cared to the point where she said things that shouldn't have been said. She sighed deeply. Maybe it was time for her to stop. Maybe it was time for her to take her distances and to stop acting like a friend to someone who never wanted a friend in the first place. _Will not care_.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 24**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter.

Hope you enjoyed.

Leave me some reviews. I love reading them.

xox

Krystal


	26. Chapter 25: Numbers

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 25: Numbers**

* * *

 **F** or the next few days, Yuki avoided visiting Sasuke. She still frequented the hospital, but only went to see Kakashi and Lee. She tried to care less, but, for most of her life, she had already spent it caring for him as a replacement for his older brother.

"She should arrive to Konoha soon." Said Gai to Lee. "She'll be able to fix you. You'll be up and about in no time."

They were talking about the person that Jiraiya and Naruto had set out to find. At first, Yuki wasn't aware of the identity of that person. However, after all that had happened, she learned that Tsunade was the one they were referring too. Although she did not express it openly in order to hide part of her past job, Yuki was delighted to hear that she would become their Hokage. Being the Third's student and the First's granddaughter, there was indeed no better person to take on the role of the Hokage. The only thing that bothered Yuki was the fact that she wasn't sure if Tsunade would want to return to the village. Furthermore, would she want to put her medical skills back to use?

"She's always been my idol." Said Tenten with a huge grin on her face. "I've always aspired to be well reputed like her."

"We must not have heard the same rumors. I heard she had a bad habit of gambling." Said Neji while leaning against the window frame.

"Regardless of her habits or reputation, I know, personally, how amazing her medical skills are. That's all that matters. They are the reason why she's one of the legendary Sannins after all."

"She's here…" suddenly murmured Yuki.

As she said those words, the door opened. Followed by Shizune and then Jiraiya and Naruto, Tsunade came into the room. As she came in, there was an air about her that exuded power and leadership. She met eyes with Yuki, gave her a little nod of acknowledgement and turned immediately towards Lee. She quickly went over his medical records and then examined his condition quickly. She sighed and then, without having introduced herself, she asked:

"Why have we delayed the surgery until now?"

"They couldn't perform a surgery on me that would allow me to fight afterwards." Answered Lee.

"You still want to be a shinobi?" Tsunade asked, slightly surprised.

"Yes, mam! I live and breathe the shinobi life."

"I'm sorry to say that's not going to be possible."

"But…" Lee started as he looked at Gai who looked as gutted as he was.

"Tsunade-sama, you don't understand. He…" started Gai.

"I do understand. If we do any surgeries to potentially let him use his chakra or fight again, he will die. I'm the one who should say that you don't understand."

"I would rather die than be incapacitated for life." Lee replied firmly. His eyes were filled with determination, but they also were filled with tears demonstrating both fear and courage.

"Kid, if you can't value your life, I can't do anything for you." Said Tsunade in the most uncaring tone.

"Tsunade-sama, if I can prove to you that there's a way, can you attempt it?" Yuki, then, intervened. "It is a little dangerous, but if I can increase the chances of it working, would you be willing to try?"

"I know what you are thinking. There's a 50/50 chance of him dying. I don't want another dead kid on my surgical table." Tsunade said as she turned her head towards Yuki.

"Can we delay the incapacitating surgery until I give up on finding a solution then?"

"Why don't we let her try?" then asked Jiraiya with a smile.

"You are all crazy." Said Tsunade as she closed her eyes. "But fine. Yuki, you have a week."

"Even if it does increase the chances of survival by 1%, you will perform the surgery to help him continue fighting?"

"Sure, but don't you all blame me if he dies." She said pointing at Lee whose eyes were now glistening with hope.

"Lee, you can count on me." Said Yuki in a reassuring tone.

He gave her a thumbs up and a nod. For the first time, Yuki felt like she was actually being of some help. Despite all the times she tried her best, came back successful from missions, she never felt like she did something worthwhile. At this moment in time, she felt deserving of the acknowledgment. She felt like she had some value. It also comforted her when she was feeling the weight of the failure earlier that week associated with Sasuke's condition.

* * *

 **T** he library slowly became her home once again, just like when she was younger. She rarely left it. She went through hundreds of books, used many flow charts to help her determine the link between one fact and the other and kept calculating the probability of a successful surgery. It was hard to increase the probability. Furthermore, Yuki wanted more than just a percent increase. She wanted Lee to survive. She wanted Lee to be able to live to see his dreams come true. After all these years, she got to know him well. She grew very fond of his determination and his beliefs. She wanted to help him for than anything. The fact that he wanted that help made her want to come to his aid even more. It's easier, after all, to help someone who wants to help himself.

Tenten would often come in and help her. However, her lack of knowledge in the medical field hindered her ability to read fast and understand the content rapidly. She would apologize, something that Yuki deemed unnecessary, because any help was great due to the time restraint that Tsunade had imposed.

"You know, I really used to admire Tsunade. I thought she was this tough, yet humane kunoichi. But when she was so cold to Lee, I suddenly felt betrayed." Tenten told Yuki as they were both going through the thousand of papers laying on the table.

"You just have to get to know her. I've heard she's been through a lot. It definitely affected her character."

"Perhaps..."

They quickly went back to talking about Lee's condition. Before they knew it, midnight hit again. Tomorrow was the Hokage's inauguration ceremony. Although Yuki was used to working past midnight, they had to attend the ceremony bright and early. She decided to call it a day and headed home with Tenten. Reaching the fork at which they had to separate, they waved goodbye and wished each other a good night sleep.

* * *

 **I** t was the morning of the inauguration morning. Because she was exhausted from all the work these past few days, Yuki had a surprisingly good sleep. She woke up as the sun rose, but she never slept so well. It was the kind of sleep where, if she twisted and turned, she was completely unaware of it. As she was washing her face, something revealed itself to her. Maybe it was her head that finally had some rest, maybe it was something that triggered some kind of memory, but she finally figured out something to help increase the chances of a recovery for Lee. She quickly grabbed her shoes, put them on and teleported herself to the entrance of the library. She rushed inside and took out a new paper and started writing out everything. 58% was the number she came up to. She then took those papers and left for the Hokage's office immediately.

As she got there, she knocked on the door a few times.

"Come in."

She walked in, delighted.

"I found it."

"Show me."

Tsunade quickly went over the calculation and the methods that Yuki suggested. She smiled. She took a brush and circled the 58 multiple times.

"I think he'll be happy to hear about this."

"I'll tell him after the ceremony. I hear Shizune's footsteps. They seem hasty. Are we late?"

Tsunade chuckled. Shizune did, indeed, appear seconds later. She told the both of them to hurry. Tsunade placed Yuki's paper on her desk, in view for everyone. She then murmured to Yuki, as she walked by her:

"I knew you would find it. There's always a solution. I was just being lazy."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 25**

* * *

Thank you again for reading!

Loving the reviews!

Keep them coming!

xox

Krystal


	27. Chapter 26: Into the Dark

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 26: Into the dark**

* * *

 **"C** ongratulations of becoming the Hokage, Tsunade." he told her in a condescending way. "You were born for this job after all."

"Danzo, I prefer to think of my inauguration as deserving rather than something that was handed to me on a silver platter, but thank you." replied Tsunade sarcastically.

"Of course. I should remind you, Tsunade, that the Root will always be present to assist you. However, to do so, I do require your help to recruit new people for the branch."

"We are already short on shinobis and, yet, you want me to hand over people to you?"

Tsunade took a sip of her tea. She didn't like where this was heading. She had a feeling he already had his eyes set on some people and that he wouldn't let it go until he got what he wanted. Danzo was that kind of man. She remembered him from when she used to be the Third's student. He was unpleasantly cunning.

"I don't need much."

Someone, then, knocked on the door. Shizune headed over and opened the door. Yuki was there and so was Shikamaru.

"Oh, come in." said Tsunade. "I called you both here because I went over the Chunnin's exam data and you both were recommended to be promoted."

"Funny how they were noticed." then said Danzo. "I was going to ask for that girl."

Yuki turned towards and gave him a glare. She still had unfinished business with him. How lucky was it that he was here? However, she didn't know why he asked for her. He certainly wouldn't cause a scene, because she was the one who trespassed into the Root at the time, would he?

"You want Yuki as a new recruit for the Root?" asked Tsunade, slightly surprised as she knew that Yuki was pretty much the Third's family.

"I saw her during the exam and thought that she would be perfect for the Root."

"I don't want to join the Root." said Yuki firmly. Her disgust for the organization still hadn't dissipated from that day.

"I can train you to hone the skills that you already possess."

"I don't want to work for you."

"You don't work for me, you work for the village... the village your grandfather died protecting." he said.

"I heard the Root didn't lend a hand to the village when it was being attacked."

"I was away. I wasn't made aware that day."

"Why must you be made aware for the Root to help the village if they work for the village? Such poor logic..."

Shikamaru smirked at that comment. He didn't know Yuki well, but he could appreciate a bright mind. She was one of the rare kunoichi he had met that could think clearly and ahead of time. She wasn't hot-headed like many, however, she wasn't passive like he was either. There was no doubt, in his mind, that she was admirable.

"If that is what you believe, please accept my apology."

"Not accepted."

"Yuki, don't be rude." said Tsunade, trying to appease Danzo. "He is an elder after all. Danzo, I think that this just all too sudden for her. Why don't you let me talk to her first before we answer to you."

Danzo stood up, gave her a dirty smile and nodded before leaving the Hokage's office to Yuki's relief. Shizune escorted him out, leaving only Shikamaru and Yuki in the office with Tsunade. The Hokage sighed and leaned against the back of her chair.

"I didn't even get to congratulate you both because of that old geezer. He gives me such headache."

"Tsunade-sama," said Shikamaru. "do you really think I should become a chunnin? I understand why Yuki is, but I think that..."

"Your intelligence and composure impressed everyone. More than the need to be strong, we need someone who can plan and lead with his brain. You both were above the rest because of that."

"This is so troublesome though." Shikamaru said as he sighed deeply.

"Tsunade-sama... about the Root..." Yuki started, glancing over at Shikamaru.

"I'll take my leave now." he announced tactfully.

As he left, Tsunade told Yuki to come closer and said:

"I don't want you there either, but... it would be nice to have someone I can trust within the Root so that some of its activity can be monitored and controlled."

"You could send one of your ANBU."

"Then he would know and be wary of that person. He wasn't aware of the fact that you've been trained as an ANBU, right?"

"I doubt it."

"Good."

"But, the reason why I think he wants me in the Root is because of my eyes."

"What do you mean?"

"Kakashi-senpai once told me that Danzo ordered the Root ANBUs to steal his sharingan. However, they failed and since then haven't tried again as to not reveal themselves. If I were to be in the Root, they would have access to my eyes at all times. I don't know why they are interested in the sharingan, but something tells me he is up to no good with that information."

"Does he know though?"

"Maybe. I assumed he did because of the amount of spies that he has. I accidentally revealed them when Itachi and Kisame trespassed into the village."

Tsunade said nothing else. She was obviously worried. Her eyebrows grew closer together as she gave it more thoughts. She bit her lip like she always did and rested her forehead on her hands that were holding each other as if she was praying. She closed her eyes. So many things went through her mind at that moment.

"What should I tell him? I'm going to have to talk to each of the big families and see if they can let..."

"Tsunade-sama, I gave it some thoughts. Why don't I just go? We are basing off this decision over many maybes. Tell Danzo that you've convinced me to go."

"Yuki, no. It is too dangerous. I didn't realize such things were happening. Knowing it now, I can't allow you to take such risks. Besides, you are my teacher's granddaughter. I really can't..."

"You said it would be nice to have an insider."

"It can be somebody else."

"I have more experience in infiltration than anybody else you could potentially suggest to Danzo. He won't agree to it anyway."

"But..." started Tsunade.

"And you have been convinced. Should I head over to Danzo's then?"

Tsunade clenched her teeth together and simply gave her nod. Had she known, she would not even have suggested for Yuki to be part of the Root.

"I can't believe I got promoted twice in one day." Yuki said, winking as she left the Hokage's office.

* * *

 **B** efore settling into the depth of the Root, Yuki paid one last visit to Lee in the hospital. She wasn't planning on saying goodbye to everyone, but luckily, the majority of the people were gathered in Lee's room, including Shikamaru who, most likely, would have known by now where she would be going. They were in the midst of congratulating Shikamaru on his promotion. He bashfully accepted them before noticing that Yuki had joined them.

"Knew you would eventually show up." Shikamaru murmured as she got closer.

"Congratulations Yuki!" said Lee brightly. "And thank you. I don't think I got to thank you in person for finding a way to allow me to pursue my dreams."

"No thanks necessary. I just hope all goes well."

"What took you so long to come here and share the good news with us?" asked Tenten as wrapped her arm around Yuki's neck.

"I was assigned a mission upon my promotion, therefore I had to stay back." Yuki replied. "It's bound to be a long one... So I actually came to say goodbye."

"Where are you going?" asked Neji, surprised and seemingly a little upset.

"A little bit everywhere, really."

"So you agreed in the end." said Shikamaru as he yawned. "That sounded like quite a troublesome job."

Yuki gave him a glare. If he uttered another word, Yuki would really have to hit him to shut him up.

"Is it dangerous?" Neji asked again.

"When was there a mission that wasn't dangerous?" Yuki said jokingly.

Neji did take that well. He left the room.

"I'll go talk to him."

"Oh, on your way, you should check on Naruto and Sasuke! They just had a huge fight on the rooftop!" yelled out Ino as Yuki was leaving.

"I was told to care less!" answered Yuki as she waved goodbye to everyone.

* * *

 **Y** uki rushed after Neji in the streets of Konoha as he took large angry steps. It was the first time that Yuki saw Neji lose control of his emotions. They were close to his house when he abruptly stopped and turned around.

"Hey..." said Yuki hesitantly. "I'm just, you know... I'm just completing another mission."

"Right."

"I'm not saying that your question was idiotic. I just... I mean..."

"You don't owe me an explanation."

"Right."

"Right."

It became silent. Neji sighed and then went off on her:

"I asked because I cared. I'm upset because I cared. Yet you, you carelessly gave out the most apathetic answer you could possibly think of. You know, people always say how smart you are, but, sometimes, I really wonder if that's true. I'm not saying you are stupid. No, you are smart. However, you just can't seem to read people."

Yuki raised her eyebrow and replied in a cold tone:

"Right. I am the most apathetic person here."

"Yuki, that's not what I meant."

"No, no, you are very right. It would have been better if I just went off on my mission without saying anything. At least, that would have been a little more empathetic."

Yuki turned around and started walking away. She assumed that he would get her. She didn't expect him to call her cold. She always thought that he was a friend that understood her, despite her lack of expressive words. She never felt more misunderstood. Neji walked after her. He tried to apologize. She simply ignored him. It went on for a bit. She finally arrived close enough to the Foundation entrance. She stopped. It was already night time.

"You should head home." she told him.

"When are you leaving?"

"Just leave me alone."

Before he could add anything else, Shikamaru, along with Naruto, Choji & Kiba, arrived on scene. They all had a dark expression on their face, as if something terrible had just happened.

"Neji, I'm going to need you."

"What's wrong?" he asked them.

"Sasuke just deserted the village." Shikamaru answered. "Tsunade-sama just asked to take a team with me to bring him back."

"He what?" asked Yuki, shocked.

"Deserted, you know left the village, unauthorized, without leaving any message behind..." started Kiba.

"I know what that means, thank you."

"Let's head out as soon as possible then." said Neji.

"Kiba will find his tracks with Akamaru. You should go get ready." Shikamaru told him. "I will debrief you on everything as we are on the way."

Neji nodded as he rushed home without saying anything else.

"I will come too." said Yuki.

"You can't." said Shikamaru. "Tsunade knew this was going to happen. She said that you should focus on your own mission. Have a little faith in us, will you?"

Faith. It was all she had and all that she had lost. As they disappeared into the darkness of the night despite the moon being full that night, she descended into the darkness of the Foundation. Her heart felt heavy. She was fighting back tears. As she arrived to the center of the Root headquarter, she was once again greeted by the ANBU that stopped her during her last visit. He was not wearing his mask today. He smiled without a hint of emotion behind his eyes:

"Welcome."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 26**

* * *

Thank you for making it this far into the story.

Please keep on reviewing & following this story.

xox

Krystal


	28. Chapter 27: Cursed

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 27: Cursed**

* * *

 **H** e walked her through the many corridors that the Foundation had, but that no one knew about. Kakashi had told her many times about how intricate the design of the structure was, but she didn't realize how dark and difficult to navigate it would be. She didn't really keep track of the way she had gone through. Her mind was preoccupied by other issues. On one hand, she was worried about Sasuke and his sudden decision to leave the village. On the other hand, she was worried about the 5 shinobis that had gone off after Sasuke. Although she didn't know what kind of danger awaited them nor if there was going to be some kind of danger, she felt very uneasy about the whole situation. It was also the first time they had gone off on a mission without a jounin supervising them. If she had a third hand, she was also uneasy about how things were left off between her and Neji. It seemed that their friendship, at least in her mind, came to an end as he left for the mission and she left for hers. It felt like that connection that they had built over the years got stretched out to the point of breakage. Her heart broke a little at that thought. It was always very hard for her to bond with others.

"And here is where we gather to meet Danzo-sama." the ANBU told her as they got to a large room under the eyes of hundreds of others.

She gave him a nod of acknowledgement before going back to thinking about the others once again. The ANBU didn't seem to care much about her lack of interest in him. If he did, he didn't show much on his face. Despite her mind wandering off constantly, she still noticed that none of them really showed much emotions on their faces. She could tell and hear that people talked about her as she joined the crowd, but their faces just remained passive.

"He's here." the ANBU whispered into her ear.

"We have a newcomer. I hope she will feel welcomed. You two will become a team." Danzo said as he pointed to Yuki and the ANBU that had been guiding her. "Teach her well."

"Yes, Danzo-sama."

Yuki smirked and glared at Danzo who was standing on a higher ground than all of them. He noticed her piercing look and whispered into one of the masked ANBU by his side. Along with another, that masked ANBU walked towards Yuki and her now teammate.

"Come with us. Danzo-sama wishes to speak with you privately."

They then turned to Yuki's partner and gave him a nod. He then gently pushed Yuki in the back to make her get going. She didn't resist. She simply walked with them. Her guards were, however, up. It didn't seem like they were going to harm her at moment, seeing how Danzo announced her presence among the rest of them. However, being escorted in such manners was never necessarily a good sign. They lead her into this dark room where only two wooden chairs and a table were present. Danzo was sitting in one of them. He waved at Yuki, signalling for her to come join him.

"You must be so sad about your adopter grandfather's passing." he said, trying to be compassionate.

Yuki took a seat. The only light came from this tiny hole, or rather crack, in the ceiling. It was shining on Danzo's face in an eerie manner that gave Yuki goosebumps. The others were still present in the room, but she couldn't see where they were standing.

"The Root is a place where the lost souls find home. They are among others who do not know where to go either. I give them the opportunity to be more than what they would've been. Child, I feel like you are lost."

She remained silent. She didn't think she was lost. Actually the passing of the Third helped her understand the concept of home even more so than before. Danzo was wrong. She might have lost a family member, but she didn't lose herself. She found home in the village and the people she encountered along the way.

"You are one of us now. I'll take you under my wing, train you, teach you... I'll make you greater than what the Third has made of you. I see such great potential, yet none of it has been put to good use... The Third always wasted such great talent for the sake of happiness and mercy."

"Don't you speak of him like he was a disillusioned old man. If anything, he saw things that we couldn't see or that we decided not to disregard."

"Here, we do not lose our temper."

"I'm not one of you."

Yuki stood up. Two hands then pushed her back down onto the chair and slammed her against the table. She tried to fight back, but she was overpowered by them. Danzo remained calm through it all. His face was stone cold. She tried to weave a sign to teleport herself in an open area where she could move, but whoever was holding her down stopped her from doing so.

"You don't have a choice."

"I always have the choice."

"Perhaps... but only if that choice is death." said Danzo with a smile.

Yuki could feel chills down her spine. She witnessed countless of killing, gory scenes and yet, his simple smile was enough to make her fearful.

"Why don't you open your mouth now?"

Yuki shook her head and clenched her teeth together. She feared what was going to come next. Before she could think of what to do next, someone grabbed onto her face and tried to get her jaw to loosen. Despite fighting back, he eventually succeeded. She looked up and, as his face came to light, she could see that it was her teammate. He put his hand in her mouth and pulled out her tongue.

"I told you, you will become one of us whether you like it or not." said Danzo.

As he finished those words, she felt a burning sensation on her tongue. To be exact, it felt like hot needles were going through her tongue in a specific pattern. The few seconds that she felt the pain felt like hours. As soon as it ended, her teammate let go and disappeared back into the dark shadows once again. The hands that held her down also let go of her. She was coughing from the pain and dryness that ran through her throat.

"I know Tsunade wouldn't have sent you here without ulterior motives. Let her know, when you see her next, that the Root in an independent organization and she has no affairs in it. Say anymore, I can ensure you that you've chosen your death."

Yuki kicked the table towards him. He didn't even move. One of the masked ANBU blocked it and sent it back towards Yuki. She broke it in anger as it flew to her face. Danzo, somehow, appeared right in front of her and grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground:

"I'll forgive you this once. I'll take it as you are not in your right mind now. You'll learn not to disobey. You'll learn to respect my person, my orders... There will be no second reminder."

* * *

 **Y** uki was brought to a house in the middle of the forest where most of Root always trained at. It was always off access to everybody else in the village. Her teammate was the one to bring her there. They were silent during the whole entire way there. Yuki's mouth still felt dry from whatever that had happened in the dark room. She didn't want to ask her partner what it was as she felt he might not be willing or able to answer it. She would rather check it out herself once she settled into the new place. The house was simple. The things that were available were very minimal. There were two beds in two separate rooms, a table with two chairs, a small kitchen with only a sink, but no oven, a few shelves and a tiny bathroom in the back.

"Someone's staying here with me?" she asked him.

"This is my place. I grew up here with my brother." he answered as he took off his shoes and walked into the kitchen.

He grabbed an empty glass and filled in up with water from the sink. He then gave the glass to Yuki. She gratefully accepted it. She looked into the glass and looked at her reflection in it. One side of her cheek was red from being slammed onto the table. She opened her mouth and looked at her tongue. There was a black pattern on it.

"It's a cursed seal. It's to prevent you from speaking about Danzo-sama or the Root to anybody outside of the organization." he told her.

"That's disgusting." said Yuki as she took a sip of water.

"It is mostly to protect information about the village and its functions in case we get captured during a mission."

"In my case, it's to prevent the village in knowing what goes on within itself."

"It's for the best."

Yuki decided to ignore that comment. She looked around the house. It was very clean despite it being all made of wood.

"So, you grew up here with your brother, you said? Where is he now?"

"He died."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Yuki said as she turned around to look at her teammate's face. It was expressionless. He wasn't sad at the thought of having lost his brother. "Were you close?"

"We did everything together. We trained together and then..."

"You weren't blood brothers?"

"No, we just grew up together. We were brought up by Danzo-sama as we were both orphans."

"And then..."

"He just died."

"Do you miss him?"

"Miss him?" he asked her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean do you miss him?" she said as she thought it was obvious what she was asking. It was then that she realized what he meant when he said that his brother died. She was aware that the Root had ruthless methods of training their shinobis, but to be asked to kill...

"I remember reading about the word _miss_. It's about noticing one's absence, isn't it? What was it again? Yes, it is noticing the loss of something or someone in your heart and mind."

"Are you reciting a dictionary for me, right now?"

"I'm sorry. I don't understand emotions, the heart or feelings very well. I only know that they lead to hate and hate leads to conflict and conflict brings war. Suppressing them allow for conflict to come an end when we get involved. Therefore, we prevent war."

"Have you been brainwashed?"

"No. It is the rule we abide to in order to prevent violence."

"It's a violence against self to prevent emotions from being felt."

"I've read about you." he then said. "I've heard of your success as an ANBU when you were younger. You were, how do they describe that again... ah yes... you were quite cold from my understanding."

"I didn't know better and that's why I am telling you that it is wrong to live that way."

"Life is only about mission. You either succeed at your mission or fail. Obviously, when you didn't emotions, you did very well in life."

"That's not what life is all about."

"That's what I know of life."

"That's a cursed life."

"We are cursed, after all." he said pointing at his tongue. "You do understand after all."

He smiled, eyes still unchanged and emotionless. Yuki only really understood then how fearful the Root was. They were killing machines who didn't care about themselves. They just had missions in mind. They didn't know what's right and what's wrong. They didn't care. As long as Danzo said that it will bring good, they would execute. He wasn't wrong. The lack of empathy really allowed for better soldiers. They were nothing, but pawns. They would never lead. They would never be humans. They were just machines.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 27**

* * *

Hope you enjoyed!

xox

Krystal


	29. Chapter 28: Cold to Warm

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 28: Cold to Warm**

* * *

 **Y** uki woke up to a new ANBU mask and hooded cape being delivered to her. It also meant that she was going to be sent on a mission. Danzo was sitting at their dining table as walked out from her bedroom draped in her cape and mask on, ready to leave.

"They requested for backup to help those Genins who went after Uchiha Sasuke."

"You want me to believe that you want us to go help them." Yuki asked, bitter.

"Wrong. We don't support them. We are here to support to village, to protect it from harm. I was informed that Sasuke actually headed out to meet with Orochimaru in order to gain power. He is therefore an enemy of the village. I've added him to your bingo book. You are to kill him if the opportunity presents itself. However, I understand that this is your first mission with us. Therefore I'm only asking you to gather information about Orochimaru and his whereabouts."

"A recognition mission?" simply asked Yuki despite being in shock at the knowledge that Sasuke had really betrayed the village.

"Yes."

"Is he coming?"

"Of course. You are a team now. Besides... what makes you think I trust you?"

For the first time, Yuki couldn't help but agree with what Danzo had just said.

"Oh, you must be uncomfortable not knowing his name." said Danzo as he was leaving their house. "Just call him Sai."

"Does he not have an actual name?"

"I don't." said the now named Sai. "We should head out and catch up to them now. They probably are quite far from the village as they left two nights ago. Although they are Genins, so perhaps not..."

"Don't underestimate them and their will."

"Will? I don't see how that would help them move faster."

"Let's just get going."

"I was told that..."

"Sure. I'm just going to teleport myself to them. I can't take you with me, so I'll see you later." Yuki said as she waved goodbye and flashed herself out of there. This would allow her to be out of the Root's supervision for a bit and also assist Shikamaru's team if needed.

* * *

The only person who had a seal to which Yuki could teleport to was Neji. Being together a lot in the last few years, Yuki finally decided to place a seal on him when he showed care for her after she had injured herself while fighting Kisame. When he grabbed her wrist, she unknowingly decided to care for him as well. It turned out to be quite useful in this case. Her skills also improved since she last had to use the Flying Thunder God Technique. Her range widened. She didn't have to be constrained to a certain area for it to work any longer. The amount of time that was required to place a seal was also reduced. Her travel time was increased. What used to take her around 5 seconds would only take her 2 seconds to travel now. Within that time, she arrived by Neji. As she was about to greet him, she saw nothing else but an inanimate body on the ground, his inanimate body. She kneeled beside him, checked his pulse and tried to sense for his chakra. He was still alive. Yuki let out a sigh of relief. His wound was very deep. If not treated immediately, he would certainly die. He was already at the brink of death. Never had she wished her medical skills were more powerful than at that moment. She first stopped the continuous bleeding at the wound. Then, because his chakra was almost completely depleted, his body had started to die as well. She transferred her chakra to him, also maintaining, therefore, his body temperature and chakra flow throughout his body. Needing to be focused, she closed her eyes to make sure she made no mistake in the transfer.

"Why are you here..." she heard his feeble voice barely managing to speak.

"Oh you know, just passing by... Don't say anything, right now. Stay still. I can only so much until reinforcement and hopefully medics come."

He did as she told him. He, however, couldn't help but turn his head to be able to look at her. She was unaware of it. Her eyes were still closed. She tried to cut out any possible disturbances from the animals, wind, forest... It took a lot out of her to be able to keep the chakra flowing in a steady manner as her emotions could potentially get the better of her control. Neji was grateful, of course, but he was also worried. Being someone who knew loads about chakra and its flow, he knew how demanding it was for her to maintain his life in such way. It also allowed him to realize how much he meant to her after all. He had doubts about it as she wasn't very expressive of her feelings, but those doubts vanished as he saw her caring this much about him. Maybe it was simply in her nature to want to protect the people she knew, but it still warmed his heart and gave him another reason to keep on fighting for his life.

"What are you doing?" asked a familiar voice.

"You already caught up?" she asked, still trying to maintain her composure.

"I don't remember this being part of our mission."

"Does it look like I care about the mission right now?"

"Certainly not."

"You go ahead then. I'll catch up later."

"I don't think you understand what this mission entails."

"Again, does it look like I care?"

"I will have to report back to Danzo-sama later on about this."

"Feel free to do so. Now, if you would please excuse me, I really need to make sure that he makes it."

He did not leave. He stayed there with her. He didn't utter another word however. Even though he showed no compassion towards the injured, Yuki appreciated the fact that, at the very least, he realized how important this was to her. Suddenly, however, Yuki felt her energy depleting. She had been transferring a lot of her own chakra while continuously rotating it within Neji's body. She knew she had reached her limit. She could only push for a little longer. Sai walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder:

"You are going cold."

Neji's eyes widened. He frowned and wanted to stop Yuki from continuing. He then realized what she was doing. She was transferring, not only chakra, but her life force into him.

"Yuki..." he tried to say.

"Shut up." she replied. Her voice was much weaker than it used to be. "I know what I'm doing."

"Take some of mine." said Sai. "I wouldn't know how to answer to Danzo-sama if you were to die here."

"I'm surprised he cares." she said in a sarcastic tone. "Thanks but no thank you. I need you in shape if anything were to happen. Trust me, I won't die. I just need to keep this up a little bit longer. I can sense a group of people heading over. I bet you they are from Konoha."

He didn't insist. He took a few steps back to give her space. He just kept observing. A few more minutes passed and Yuki grew weaker by the second now. Luckily, the medical team arrived at that moment.

"Who are you?" one of the them asked.

"We are from Konoha. We were just passing by." replied Yuki, exhausted but still not leaving Neji's side.

"We will take over." they told her as they moved closer. "Just give us a quick idea of what's going on here."

"He was struck fatally in the chest area, tissue is missing and he was bleeding profusely. I've already stopped the bleeding, but the wound remains. His vitals were weak, but I've managed to bring back his pulse to a normal average. His chakra was depleted, but I've managed to maintain it at around 75% of his usual amount. The moment I let go, his chakra will slowly stop flowing properly, so if you could bring him back quickly to the village and let the Hokage see him right away, he would have a chance of surviving."

The medics looked shock at the amount of information they had just received. They were also impressed by how she managed to maintain him alive and concious after quickly examining the severity of the wound Neji had suffered from. They gave her a quick nod and one of them took over Yuki's spot and kept the chakra flow going. Yuki opened her eyes, finally, to look at Neji in the eyes before leaving. Through the small openings in her mask, she could see that Neji was telling her through his look only how thankful her was and how worried he was. As they took him away, his eyes were still looking at her. She was still kneeling in the same position. She waited for him to be out of sight before attempting to stand up. She barely managed. As she stumbled, Sai gave her his arm as support without saying anything. She grabbed onto it. As she did, she placed her teleportation seal on him.

"Can you go on or not?" he asked her.

"Just abandon me if I can't." she answered.

"Part of my mission is to make sure you come back alive."

"Did he tell you why he wanted me to stay alive?"

"Danzo-sama doesn't tell me much other than what my mission is."

"I really can't stand the secretive nature of the Root."

"We are not that different from the regular ANBUs."

"We always knew why we were doing things."

"Did that change anything?"

"Ha, you got me."

"Hop on." he then said.

"What?"

"I'll give you a piggyback."

"Err... no thank you?"

"I heard girls love it when guys offered." Sai said, seemingly confused.

Yuki couldn't help but chuckle. Despite him being a Root, there was something about him that felt different. The others felt cold inside out, but Sai had this warmth about him that was present without him even knowing.

"I can walk. I might slow you down though."

He didn't listen, he grabbed her wrist and spun her around. Without much strength left, she somehow ended up on his back and he rushed into the forest in that manner. There was indeed a warmth within him that she could sense as she rested against his back. She closed her eyes for a bit as she was allowed to rest. Her mind wandered off. There was so much that she wanted to know. She wanted to know whether Neji had made it back to the village yet. She wanted to know if the others were safe or if they were in the same condition as Neji was. She wanted to know more about this Sai guy. As her mind wandered in such manner, she slowly fell asleep from fatigue both mentally and physically. It was her first good sleep in a long time.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 28**

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it.

I really wanted to give Sai a bigger role in this story. Hopefully, this is the right way to do so.

Let me know in the comments!

xox

Krystal


	30. Chapter 29: The Real Mission

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 29: The Real Mission**

* * *

 **S** he felt her back resting against something hard while the rain was pouring down her face. She woke up from the cold rain and looked to the sky. The clouds were dense and grey. The rain was heavy and chilling. Sai had rested her against a tree as he pulled out a scroll and paintbrush. He quickly sketched an umbrella and it came to life. He used to cover both himself and Yuki. She realized then that she had no idea what Sai's skills were. She assumed he was quite strong because he was part the Root ANBU task force, but she didn't know he had such unique skills. He could read it on her face that she was surprised and somewhat impressed.

"I've always been told I was quite artistic. I was taught to hone the skill and to use it to my advantage."

"Do you ever draw or paint for fun, though?"

"Fun?"

"Never mind, pretend I didn't ask. You wouldn't know what it is even if I were to explain it to you. So where are we now, by the way?"

Sai didn't mind the fact that she didn't answer his question:

"I've sent out a few mice to see what's going on a little bit further ahead. We passed by two other genins, but they were already being assisted by Sunagakure shinobis."

"Really? I'm glad to hear that."

As he mentioned, some mice came back with information about what was going on a little further. As they spilled into a scroll, they formed a written message for Sai to read and get an understanding of what's to be expected.

"It seems like Naruto was defeated." Sai told Yuki. "Sasuke is still there though. It seems like we have two options. We can either kill Sasuke now to prevent further threat or we can allow him to seek out Orochimaru so we can find out more information before killing him."

"Those are not our only two options. The only reason why Sasuke is in our bingo book is because he left the village. He hasn't joined up with Orochimaru yet. Therefore, he is not yet a threat to the village. If we can bring Sasuke back, we don't have to kill him. As to letting him lead us to Orochimaru, it is not a bad idea, but I would rather not to prevent further threat to the village."

"It might be the only reason why, but he is now in our bingo book nonetheless. You can do whatever you want, but I will carry out the assassination eventually."

Yuki didn't bother replying. She was already heading towards where Sasuke and Naruto were. She believed if she got there first, she could perhaps prevent Sasuke from being killed by Sai and prevent him from going down the wrong path. She was also worried about Naruto. As she got to the scene, like Sai had described, Naruto was defeated and was lying on the ground. He was drenched by the pouring rain. Standing up and looking down on him was Sasuke. He didn't even notice that Yuki had arrived on the scene. He was just staring at Naruto with both hatred and gratefulness. Before Yuki could even open her mouth to talk to him, Sai came out of nowhere and started attacking Sasuke. His reflexes were much better than before. It was perhaps thanks to the Sharingan, but he managed to block off Sai's first attack. He didn't try to fight any further. He knew his limit. His fight against Naruto clearly did some damage to him. Sai didn't harass him any further either.

"Did the village send you after me as well?" Sasuke asked coldly. "Do you all really think you can bring me back?"

"We are not here to bring you back. You've been branded a criminal. Your life is not of importance to us." replied Sai just as coldly.

"Come at me then!" yelled Sasuke in anger as his cursed seal slowly took over his body.

It was the first time Yuki saw his transformation. The aura of hatred surrounding him and slowly engulfing him was terrifying the watch. Her heart felt heavy. She felt like she was punched in the guts. There was no physical pain, but it felt more painful than any wound she's ever had. Sai charged at Sasuke who, despite still being tired from fighting Naruto, managed to avoid another one of his attacks. However, the second attack was one that he couldn't dodge any further. He prepared himself to get hit when Kakashi and his summoning animal arrived in time to block off Sai's tanto. Yuki, at that point, wasn't too sure how to react. She was relieved that Kakashi had come to save Sasuke. However, watching the way Sai was fighting Sasuke, he wasn't fighting with the intention to kill. Knowing that ANBUs are trained in the art assassination, it was a very odd way for Sai to confront Sasuke.

"Allow me to talk to him first before you try to kill him." said Kakashi calmly.

"I cannot do that." replied Sai as he tried to attack Sasuke once again.

Kakashi blocked him off. Sasuke took advantage of the current situation to escape. Kakashi and Sai then entered into a confrontation. They exchanged countless of blows. As they kept on fighting, Yuki followed Sasuke into the dark and deep forest. He wasn't slowing down despite being exhausted. She had no issue catching up with him. She finally managed to stop him. They were only a few feet apart.

"This is as far as you will go." Yuki told him.

"That's what you think." he said with a smirk on his face.

"I don't think you are in any condition to fight right now."

"I don't have to."

As he said those words, a huge snake went flying by Yuki's ear. She barely managed to dodge it. Sasuke then went passed her. She tried to grab onto him, but she failed. She turned around and tried to follow him once again. However, she was blocked off by a man. She didn't recognize him at first because of the darkness of the forest. As she counterattacked, she knocked off a tree allowing some light to pierce through the thick foliage. His glasses reflected the light.

"I will take Sasuke-kun place to fight you, if you don't mind..." he said.

"Kabuto." Yuki murmured.

"Oh? You know my name. I am honored that my name is known by ANBUs."

She remembered from the Chunnin exam. They had to fight each other back then, but he surrendered before she could finish the fight. Although she's not competitive in nature, she couldn't help but wonder what the true outcome of the battle would've been if they both gave it their all.

"Where are you taking Sasuke?" Yuki asked. "And why?"

"I am sure you can answer at least one of those two questions yourself."

Yuki knew at that moment that she wouldn't get any answers from him. If she wanted something, she would have to catch Sasuke herself. To do so, she had to get pass Kabuto. Ninjutsus always being her strongest skill, she used her ice spikes one to attack Kabuto. Skilled and precise, he managed to dodge the ones he could not break. At first, he seemed to be on the defensive, but as the battle progressed he became more and more aggressive. He had a thirst for blood as he got more and more into the battle. Eventually, he started decreasing the distance between them to force Yuki into hand-to-hand combat. She remembered that he was a medical ninja, meaning that he knew the human body better than anybody else. As that thought crossed her mind, she was struck on the thigh. Incredible pain ran throughout her whole entire body. That one touch made her lose her balance completely. She started falling from the branch she was standing on. She tried to focus her chakra on her feet so that she would be able to stick onto the tree's trunk. However, she was unable to direct to the flow of her chakra there. She caught a large branch in her fall with her left hand. She was barely hanging on. She looked up and saw Kabuto smirking, looking down on her.

"For an ANBU, you are not that strong."

He wasn't wrong, but he wasn't right either. Yuki was not weak, but she wasn't in her best shape at that moment. Although she did recover a bit from healing Neji an hour or two ago, she could feel that the recovery was hasten and incomplete. Her body didn't react as fast as she wanted to. Her chakra was also lessened. She swung herself, with her left arm, back onto the branch. He charged right at her, with his palm full of chakra, before she could even steady herself. She teleported herself to the ground before he could lend a hit. She had thrown a kunai with her seal to the ground a little earlier, in case she fell from the trees. It did come handy. Kabuto did not expect it. He had a hard stopping his motion as well and landed on the ground ungracefully after destroying countless of branches.

"The Flying Thunder God Technique. I've read so much about it. I am honored to have been able to witness it in person." he said, slightly impressed now. "I didn't realize there was still someone who was able to use it since the Fourth passed away."

"Reading and learning are quite useful, don't you think?" Yuki said sarcastically as she was thinking of a way to make it pass Kabuto and get to Sasuke.

He smirked at that comment. His guard was up until that point, but he then let go of his fighting stance.

"You are too late now. He met up with Orochimaru already."

Angered, Yuki charged at him blindly only to find herself being struck by a giant snake. Kabuto jumped onto the snake where he joined another figure. It was none other than Orochimaru.

"You can go back to the village and let them know that I will return some day." Orochimaru said. "That is if you live, of course."

Yuki was thrown a few meters away by the impact made against the giant snake. It was a deja-vu from the Chunnin exam. She stood up, however, ready to fight.

"I won't come back to the village empty handed." she said defiantly.

"With your dead corpse, that is." the snake-like figure said sadistically.

His giant snake tried to lend a hit on Yuki once again. Yuki had to use all her agility to avoid the whip of its body. Because it kept moving, it was really hard to avoid every single attack. Eventually, it managed to slap Yuki in the back. She went flying. The snake disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He was gone. Sasuke was truly gone now. Her body stopped responding. She just felt herself going through the air at great speed, unable to stop the motion. Her head went blank as well. All the sudden, she felt a body against hers. He took in the impact of her body going in one direction at great speed before bringing the both of them to a stop.

"The mission was a success." he whispered as he took her away from the scene and away from the Konohagakure's shinobis who were heading in their direction.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 29**

* * *

Thank you all, once again, for reading this story!

Hope you like it so far!

Let me know what you think in the comments!

xox

Krystal


	31. Chapter 30: The Mystery of the Heart

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 30: The Mystery of the Heart**

* * *

 **S** he woke up abruptly from her sleep. Her heart was beating fast and sweat was rolling down her forehead. She was breathing heavily. She sat up and the blanket on her body slipped down onto the floor. She was back in their hut in the forest. As her heartbeat slowed down, he came in with a tray of food.

"You are finally awake."

She didn't answer. As grateful as she was, she also resented him for not telling her what the real mission was. She didn't realize that Danzo wished for Sasuke to be sent to Orochimaru. She knew something was off about his character. He always swore to protect the village, yet he deliberately allowed for Sasuke to become a bandit, a criminal, a deserter. She still couldn't understand why he did that. She couldn't understand what he would be gaining. Danzo was not one to do things without good reasoning or advantages. He was always seeking some kind of gain. It was in his character to do so. Just like how he insisted for Yuki to join the Root, he really wanted Sasuke to join Orochimaru.

"Danzo-sama did tell me you would refuse to talk to me or him for a bit." Sai said as he handed the food tray. "Even if that's the case, you should still eat. Remember, I cannot have you die under my watch."

Yuki took the tray from him and walked away with it. She didn't want to starve herself, but she wasn't hungry either. She placed the tray on the dining table and walked out of the house. The sky was clear, the weather was warm. Sai followed her out.

"Danzo-sama also wanted me to remind you that you shouldn't let your emotions take over as they are..."

"The source of conflict." said Yuki to complete his sentence. She was so sick of hearing that. She read it when she was a child. She couldn't help but to agree back in the days. However, with time, Yuki came to realize that having no emotions was actually harmful. It allowed for a buildup of suppressed emotions that were bound to eventually surface. Losing control of such emotions was much more volatile than losing control in the moment.

"So you do know." he said.

Yuki suddenly changed subject as she looked in direction of the Konoha hospital:

"I have to go somewhere."

"You cannot."

"Says who?"

"Says Danzo-sama. He told me to keep you here and not to allow you to go anywhere unless instructed to do so."

"Don't care." Yuki said as she teleported herself to the hospital. She landed right in Neji's room. He had been on her mind since she woke up from her sleep, even more so than Sasuke being by Orochimaru's side now.

Luckily for her, there was no one in the room at that time. She didn't want to be discovered nor asked questions. Not that she could have answered them, but she would prefer not having to lie to people that she knew. She walked to the end of Neji's bed and grabbed his medical chart. He seemed to have been doing fine. He was still recovering from his injury, but his life was no longer threatened by it. It seemed like it was quite hard to fix him up, but they managed. Yuki wasn't surprised as their new Hokage was known to be the best medical ninja alive. She dropped back the chart into its little box. She then walked over to the head of the bed. On the bedside table, there was a vase filled with fresh tulips. The water in it was running low. She brought it to the sink and filled it up before placing it back onto the table.

"I thought I wouldn't see you again any time soon." She heard Neji's voice say as her back was turned towards him. "It's nice to see you walking around."

Yuki remained silent. She didn't want to turn around for some reason to look at him in the eyes. She knew if she turned around, she would have to face him with nothing but lies on her end. She was hoping Neji would notice.

"You probably have a lot that you can't say. I'll talk instead."

She couldn't be more grateful. She still did not want to turn around to look at him. She was afraid he would see all the things that were wrong. She thought ignorance, at this point in time, would be better than knowledge.

"Thank you. If it wasn't for you back then, I probably wouldn't be able to be here right now. When I realized what you were doing, I felt so guilty. There were a lot of things that went through my mind before you came. There were a lot more negative things than good things. Your name came up a lot in those thoughts. I, honestly, thought, after our last conversation, that you were... Actually, let's not talk about it. I just really wanted to say that I was really grateful. I still am. I..."

"I have to go. I just wanted to make sure that my chakra wasn't wasted." Yuki said, trying to be cold. She had to swallow a huge gulp of saliva that wasn't even really existent. She coughed as her throat was really dry.

"Yuki..." started Neji as his arm came out of his blanket in an attempt to grab on to Yuki. However, he was too slow and she vanished in mid-air, leaving only cold snowflakes on his hand.

At that moment, the door of his room opened and Gai and Kakashi walked him to visit him. There were still some snowflakes floating the air.

"She was here?" asked Kakashi as he took a seat on Neji's bed.

He nodded. He lied back down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Gai could see that he was longing for her, once again.

"Just give it some time." he said to Neji. "I'm sure she has already noticed. She just needs to sort out her feelings."

"I wouldn't be so sure." said Kakashi. "Yuki isn't someone who will take notice of ones feeling for her. She might be really smart, but when it comes to understanding feelings, she really isn't the best. There's a reason why she was a great ANBU. She kept her emotions in check really well. Sometimes, I had to wonder if she even felt anything."

"She doesn't seem that cold, though." said Gai.

"I didn't say she was heartless. She just has a hard time expressing herself and figuring out her own heart. You are not wrong telling Neji to give it time though. Ah, young love..."

"Gai-sensei, did you tell Kakashi..." Neji said, startled, widened eyes.

"I might have spilled..."

* * *

 **Y** uki did not return to the house in the forest immediately. Instead, she flashed herself on the rooftop where she enjoyed watching the sunset the most. She got there just in time to watch it that say. She took place on the bench. She looked at the sun slowing disappearing behind the infrastructures of the village. As it got lower and lower, it also took away the last few rays of warmth resting on Yuki's face. Many thoughts went through her mind as she stared blankly into the sunset. She thought about Sasuke. She did indeed blame Danzo for his leave, but the more she thought about it, the more she came to the conclusion that nothing would've stopped Sasuke. As that knot undid itself, she began thinking about Neji. The moment his name crossed her mind, she shook her head trying to knock away the idea. She then thought about Sai. There were so many things she wanted to know about him and that she knew he wouldn't be able to answer. It wasn't that he lacked the willingness to answer, but it was that he didn't know the answer. In many ways, she found plenty of resemblances between her and Sai. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she felt for him. She knew better than anyone how hard it was to suppress your feelings, especially ones concerning your family. Sometimes, the constant suppression lead to the ignorance of the presence of the feeling. It is not non-existent. It is not something that is controlled any longer. It is simply lost. _It is just like how I lose myself whenever I look into his eyes_. She stopped herself at that thought. She slapped her cheeks to wake herself up. _What was I thinking?_ Her heart started pounding once again. She blinked a few times quickly as if it would clearing her eyes would clear her mind as well. She tried to slow down her heartbeat once again. It just wouldn't stop. All the knowledge in the world, at that moment, couldn't help her solve the mystery of this funny organ that is the heart.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 30**

* * *

Thank you for reading, once again!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

It is a little cheeky...

Let me know what you think in the review section!

xox

Krystal


	32. Chapter 31: The World as a Canvas

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 31: The World as a Canvas**

* * *

 **A** s the night grew deeper, Yuki finally decided to head back to the forest, her heart still uneasy and her mind still bothered by all the thoughts that went through it. The lights in Konoha were all bright and festive looking as many were still celebrating the finished repairs done to the village and the arrival of the new Hokage. Although Sasuke's absence affected them all, the village remained the same. It should come at no surprise to Yuki that one's absence wouldn't change the dynamic of a whole entire village. After all, people came and went all the time. However, directly affected, his absence felt much larger than it should be. On her way back to the house in the forest, she passed by Sasuke's apartment. It felt just as cold as before, if not colder. She passed by quickly, trying not to pay too much attention to it. She gave it one quick look before disappearing from the village in a whirlwind of snow. She had flashed herself back to the house in the forest.

It was still weird for to call this place home. The house was not exactly welcoming. It mostly reminded her that she was trapped in the Root organization, a group she despised so deeply. Yet, this was home. As much as she felt like she didn't belong, the place felt familiar. When she got back, there was light in the kitchen. She could see it through the window. Sai's shadow was going back and forth. He seemed busy in the kitchen. She pushed the front door open, only to find a lot of smoke escaping through it. Sai was coughing in the kitchen, trying to put a fire out. Yuki quickly used one of her water ninjutsu to stop the fire. It stopped immediately. Dinner was seemingly ruined as well.

"Is this your first time cooking?" asked Yuki as she got closer to the food that was prepared. It didn't look bad, but it was definitely inedible at this point.

"It is my first time making congee. I read somewhere that people who are sick and are recovering from illness have an easier time eating that. Since you didn't eat anything earlier, I thought this would help."

Yuki couldn't help but smile at Sai's innocence. It was funny to her how being emotionless didn't suit him, yet his lack of empathy and ability to feel was something that was, at this point, innate to him.

"This is the first time I see you smile. It seems..."

"Genuine?"

"Yes. I read somewhere that when someone smiles genuinely, their face will light up. I didn't understand it until now. See, I'm not very good at it. Danzo-sama often told me that he could always tell when I'm faking a smile."

"We can always tell. There's no real happiness in a fake smile."

"I don't know what happiness is."

"I think it's more like you can't remember what happiness felt like."

"How can I remember something I've never felt?"

"Is that true?" Yuki asked as she took place at the dining table after throwing out the ruined congee. "You did live with your brother, after all. I'm sure there were moments..."

"I can't remember any of those moments." Sai replied, looking down at his feet.

"What about when you draw or paint? I saw a lot of paintings in your room as I walked by."

"I just paint. I don't feel anything when I do it."

"Nothing at all."

"Nothing."

"That's a lie. Your tone tells me otherwise."

"You must have your ears checked out then. I'm heading to bed. Goodnight."

He went into his room and closed the door. Yuki sat there, alone, silent. Her feeling wasn't wrong. He felt sadness from not being able to feel happiness. Her heart felt sad at the thought that someone could be distanced from such positive emotions. She also wasn't wrong in having interest in Sai's character. Who was he? What kind of person was he really? As much as she despised the Root still, she grew to like him as a person despite not knowing all of his traits. There was something special about Sai, something different that made him unique compared to the rest of the ANBUs she had met. He was trained so perfectly that he wasn't one of them. He had heart. He had a will. It lead him to read a lot. However, without experiencing it, he couldn't understand. Feelings are not theories, they are practical. They change, they evolve, they have a certain individuality to them. To read plain definitions wasn't enough to comprehend their depth. Yuki stared blankly at his room's door, wondering what he was thinking about in there, by himself, left to deal with his emerging emotions.

* * *

 **T** he first sun rays started sneaking into their little house. It was enough to wake Yuki up from her sleep. She never entered a deep sleep state unless she was ill or injured. She walked out into their kitchen, grabbed herself a glass of cold water to drink and went outside to exercise a little. Yuki never stopped training. Despite many thinking that she was already very strong, she never wanted to stop improving. She knew that physically she was lacking. She started her day by running a few kilometers. She then did many series of exercises that would improve her muscle strength along the way to the top of the mountain behind her house. She reached the top before the sun rose higher than the mountain top. Someone was already sitting there, on a rock, at the edge of the mountain. He was frantically drawing the sunrise.

"You are up early." said Yuki as she took place next to him.

"Good morning." he said as his eyes did not move away from his drawing.

"It's quite nice."

"Do you like it?"

Yuki nodded. He didn't say anything else. He kept drawing. Yuki stayed there silent, admiring the sunrise as he finished his artwork. The sun was now high up in the sky. Abruptly, he handed her the painting.

"Here."

"Oh, you are done. It looks really good."

"It's for you."

Yuki took it from Sai's hand. He didn't look at her as he handed it to her. He seemed to be avoiding her eyes. She took a closer look at the painting. She smiled. Although Sai always said he felt nothing as he painted, his artwork said otherwise. It was filled with a beauty that was not present when just looking at the sunrise. There was more to it in his painting. Each stroke seemed to want to say something.

"Thank you. I'll cherish this."

He started packing his things into his backpack. She tried helping him. She grabbed a few paintbrushes, tied them together before handing it to him. As she did, she noticed he was holding a very old drawing book with him, drawn on one side, and another on the other side of the cover. She didn't want to ask him about it as she noticed he put it away very quickly into his backpack.

"Let's go. Danzo-sama said that he wanted to see you this morning."

* * *

 **T** hey were now that Foundation's headquarters. Yuki still felt the pain on her tongue every time she would come to this dreadful place. Its darkness and its coldness drew her insane. The hairs on her body would just rise by itself. She wasn't one to usually fear things, but this place was just as scary as it looked from the outside. Danzo was standing there, by himself, looking down on the ANBUs who were undergoing training.

"You are both here."

"Danzo-sama, I heard you wanted to speak to us." Sai said politely.

"Yes. I have a mission for you both, individual missions."

Yuki was not expecting it. She thought she would be followed by Sai for the duration of her stay with the Root. It surprised her that Danzo would allow her to wander off on her own. Then again, there was always a chance that she would be tracked by other ANBUs.

"What does it entail?" she asked monotonously, trying not to show her bafflement.

"I went through your file and you seem to be a very proficient spy. Although the new Hokage believes in cooperation between the villages, as you probably heard about her request to have the Sand assist the Genins on their mission, I believe that they are not trustworthy enough and that they could turn against us at anytime. I want to send you out there to gather as much intelligence as possible about the different villages that are so-called allied to Konohagakure."

"That's it?" she asked. "I'm surprised you only want intel on them."

"Are you questioning my orders?" he asked her.

"When have I not..." she murmured inaudibly.

"If it helps make sense of it, I also want to keep you away from the village." he then said. "I want to remind you of what an ANBU is. He is a shadow of the village, an extension of it. He is not part of it. He follows it, he always exists, but never in the light."

Yuki bit her lip. That was what she always believed in until recently.

"Where should I start?" she asked him. "And how do you want me to approach this?"

"Anywhere. Any method you would like. Just stay away from the village. Send a report back every week."

"What about him?" she asked pointing at Sai who had remained silent this whole entire time.

"I'll talk to him in private. You are excused now." Danzo said as he turned his back to her.

Yuki could still hardly understand his intentions. Danzo was indeed the complicated character that her grandfather had once described to her. His mind was mysterious and, even with her intelligence, she couldn't decipher the cryptic missions he sent her on. She knew things, yet those things never added up. Danzo just had this way of layering things on top of things, not allowing anyone to see beyond the layer where they were standing. As much as she hated him, she grew a sense of respect for his mind. She walked away from them as she felt Sai's eyes following her. Without a proper goodbye, she was off, once again, on her own in this grand world.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 31**

* * *

Thank you for reading!

I really wanted to take Yuki out of the Leaf's Village setting and have her interact with the different villages' character. I hope you'll enjoy it.

xox

Krystal


	33. Chapter 32: The Price of Blood

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 32: The Price of Blood**

* * *

 **A** lthough Yuki was saddened by the fact that she had to leave her village, part of her felt fulfilled as she always dreamed of travelling the world. She suddenly gained this freedom she longed for. The freedom, however, was only a facade. She was still chained by Danzo as she couldn't return to the village at her own free will. Only when he would summon her would she be able to return. As she bid farewell to the village under the moonlight, the wind blew through her, now, very long white hair. She did not know where she would go first or where she would end up, but she knew now where home would be. Despite home not being the most welcoming, it was where she felt most at ease. It was a place she couldn't wait to leave, yet she was going to miss a lot. She didn't know how long her journey would be. She hoped to see familiar faces once in a while to remind her that she wasn't alone in this big world, but she also hoped she wouldn't have to face them with a mask on. The wind took her out of the village. Step by step she finally was out. She took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and headed into the darkness of the night, away from the lights in the village.

Making it into the forest, she felt safe enough to take her time and walk at a slower pace. She was now out of sight. Although she had this funny feeling that she was still being watched, she didn't care about it much. She wanted to take her time to let everything sink in, especially this new found paradoxical freedom. The air at night was humid, but refreshing. Even though she took her time, by sunrise, she was now far from Konohagakure. The territory was mostly unknown to her. She remembered bits of it from her missions as a child in the ANBU organization. However, that was a few years back now. Things have changed. Things are constantly evolving, growing or disappearing. She was stepping, soon, into the Land of the Rivers, a neighboring land to the Land of Fire. She figured she would take a short rest before venturing into another country. She sat on a tree branch, at the edge of the forest. From there, she could admire the beauty of the Land of Rivers. Its name really suited it. The blues of the river, the red of the rocks and the green from the tree leaves were a true spectacle to the eye. She took out a ration pill and started chewing on it. She closed her eyes for a second to feel the breeze go through her hair and to listen to the morning birds singing.

"Are we heading to the hideout now, then?" A voice asked.

"I want to get another bounty before heading back. The last one didn't bring much money." Another, but much deeper, voice answered.

"You and your lust for that damned money!" The first voice bellowed.

"Hidan, you should be quiet. Someone's attention might have been grabbed."

Yuki was, indeed, looking at them at them as they were now standing in the clearing beside the forest. They were dressed similarly to Itachi and Kisame when she encountered them in Konohagakure. The one named Hidan had grey hair and purple eyes. He had a mischievous face and a fairly lean body. The other one seemed larger. He was fully covered and was masked.

"Is she worth anything?" Hidan asked his partner as he finally took notice of her presence.

"She's a kid, probably not."

"Oi! Kiddo, have you heard of Jashin?" Hidan yelled at her.

Yuki shook her head. She made the assumption that it must have been a cult of some sort as she saw him pointing at a necklace around his neck shaped like a circle with a triangle in it. She assumed that it was a symbol of some sort. He grinned creepily at her reaction. Meanwhile, Yuki thought that this would allow for good intelligence to be sent to Konoha. However, remembering how strong Kisame was and knowing how strong Itachi had always been, there was no doubt in her mind that she would be in trouble if she got into a fight with these people. Hidan grabbed his large red scythe and swung it around a few times:

"I shall teach you about my God then. Kakuzu, don't intervene! I want to have some fun here!"

As he jumped towards her, Yuki flashed herself away from him. She appeared a few feet away from them, where she had thrown, much earlier a kunai out of habit in case she needed a quick escape.

"I would much rather have words to explain who Jashin is rather than a fight." Yuki said softly.

"Don't you say his name so casually, you damned kid!" Hidan yelled as he was running towards her swinging his scythe once again.

Before he could even get close to her, she flashed herself back to the tree where she was resting on.

"Hidan, stop wasting your energy. You can't catch up to her speed." The man named Kakuzu then said as he was rolling up his sleeves. "Keep her recognizable if you are going to sacrifice her, I think she might be worth something after all."

"Don't you f*cking intervene, Kakuzu! She's mine."

"Fine, but keep her face recognizable." Kakuzu replied as he went back to a passive stand.

It was enough for Yuki to understand about this Jashin religion that Hidan was following. If she wasn't wrong, they wanted her as a sacrificial object for this so-called God. However, because she showed an interesting ability, Kakuzu believed there was a potential bounty on her head. Her body wouldn't be harmed to the point of destruction. It also meant that destruction was an aspect of the religion. The scythe held by Hidan was large and heavy. It wasn't made to allow for quick killing, but rather to ensure damage done. Sacrificial rituals often required blood. Thus, Yuki had to avoid spilling blood. Kakuzu didn't seem to want to get involved at this point, therefore she didn't have to worry about him just yet. Yuki didn't really want to fight either. She seemed to be left with no choice. The best option right now was for her to keep her distance. She was too far from the village to flash herself back there. She either had to get back deep into the Land of Fire before disappearing, but she didn't know if she would have the chance to make that distance. Hidan didn't seem to be too fast, nor too calculative. If she manipulated those two factors, there was a chance for her to win this battle without even getting close and risking to be sacrificed to Jashin.

"I can't guarantee anything, Kakuzu. I'm feeling this urge... I can smell the blood already!"

"You really talk too much... and too loudly." said Yuki. "Your best bet would've been to not let me know of anything before trying to kill me."

"Shut the f*ck up! What do you know!?"

"To sum it up, my blood is worth quite a lot, isn't it?"

"You are smart, kid. However, you are nothing, but a kid. Do you really think you can defeat us?" Kakuzu asked, now interested in Yuki's character.

"I never planned on it."

"You should start planning. If I start getting into the fight, you really won't have a chance. I'm actually feeling a little itchy right now."

"Are you calling me weaker than you, Kakuzu!?" Hidan yelled, angered. "I'll prove you wrong!"

Hidan sped up toward Yuki. She flashed herself into the clearing and started running towards the rocky valleys in front of her. If she could make it, she would be able to use those rocks to create more distance between her and Hidan by creating a landslide. As she was running, she used a water ninjutsu creating large waves pushing Hidan back as he got hit. She heard him curse while gargling water. She gave herself quite a lot space between him and her. She, however, did not slow down. She didn't believe that Kakuzu would let her get away that easily. As that thought crossed her mind, something grabbed onto her foot, making her trip onto the grassy ground. With her katana, she tried to cut the weird grey strings attached to her foot. However, she was unsuccessful. She then used her lightning prowess to increase the sharpness of her blade and finally managed to get rid of the attachment.

"Not bad, kid." she heard Kakuzu say.

"I thought I told you not to intervene!" yelled Hidan as he finally got out of the water.

"I wouldn't have had to if you were a little more efficient."

"I thought you said she was just a kid!"

"I told you she was worth something."

"F*ck!"

Yuki picked herself off the ground. While they were arguing, she threw a few of her kunais further towards the valley, allowing her to escape the scene if needed. She was now panting. This was taking a lot more out of her than she thought it would. As much as she consciously knew this wasn't going to be an easy battle, she didn't expect it to be so intense so quickly. She usually had time to analyze the battlefield. She also, usually, had an understanding of her opponents. Hidan seemed to be a straight forward character. She wasn't too concerned about him. Although his weird ritual was to be feared, it seemed to require a lot of effort before it can be accomplished. She, or more like her blood, was also necessary. As long as she knew that, she was safe. Kakuzu was the one that she couldn't read. From her chakra recognition skill, she could tell that he was really strong and that he, like her, had all five nature type within him. Whatever it was that he used to catch her didn't require him to move from his initial position. Therefore, keeping distance between her and him was useless. The thing that caught her was of a tough material, yet it obviously had a lot of flexibility and malleability. As she was staring at them and they kept arguing and threatening each other, she noticed that those grey strings wiggled themselves back to Kakuzu and reattached themselves to him. _Kakuzu... What a familiar name._ That's when it clicked.

"I read about you. You fought the First Hokage, didn't you?"

"Oh, someone is well aware of history. Knowledge is both a blessing and a condemnation..."

"TO DEATH!" completed Hidan as he charged forward with much greater speed than what he had achieved previously.

Yuki flashed herself to the first kunai she had thrown. There she met with those grey strings that tried to tie themselves around her. Using her lightning nature transformation, she cut her way through with agility. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that Hidan was actually being propelled at great speed by Kakuzu's weird ability. He was getting closer. She flashed herself to that second kunai. Again, she was greeted with never ending grey ropes. All the sudden, those grey strings were caught in a black flame. _Amaterasu._

"Itachi! What the hell! We were just about to kill that little brat!" yelled Hidan who was no longer being moved thanks to Kakuzu strings.

"Our leader have been asking for you two. I would head to the hideout now." said Itachi calmly, not caring about Hidan's wrath.

"This won't take long!"

"It was long enough to know that this would take a long time."

"What the hell are you talking..." Hidan started.

"We will head over there now." Kakuzu interrupted. "Kid, I'll wait for your blood to be worth a little more before coming after you."

Hidan cursed before following Kakuzu unwillingly towards a different set of valleys. Normally, Yuki would've followed them. This business about a hideout and a group with such skilled defectors had to be worth investigating. However, she wasn't stupid nor irrational. She knew she stood no chance against them. If she wanted to figure out more about them, they couldn't know of her presence. She would have to give it a few days before venturing near them again. By that time, she wasn't sure they would still be around. As the pair of them disappeared into the deep valleys, Yuki finally looked up at Itachi who was standing on a rock a few higher than her.

"You should leave." He then said coldly. "You can't defeat them."

"I figured that much, thank you."

"I mean it. They are known among us, Akatsuki, as the Zombie Combo."

"Why did you come to help?"

"I have my reasons..."

"Did you hear about Sasuke?"

"I heard."

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing you could have done."

"I should have been more assertive."

"What's meant to happen will happen."

"But..."

"Just get going before we attract anybody else to the scene."

As he said those words, he disappeared into the sky as a flock of crows. Yuki couldn't help but to stare at them for a little while longer before moving along on her journey. It hadn't been a full day yet since she left, yet her eyes have witnessed a lot more than she could have imagined. Despite being safe now, she couldn't help but be on her guard for whatever danger that was lurking ahead of her. There was already a lot for her to report back to Danzo as well, most of it being about this unknown group called Akatsuki.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 32**

* * *

Thank you for reading!

xox

Krystal


	34. Chapter 33: Just travelling

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 33: Just travelling**

* * *

 **T** he next few days were rather uneventful. Before she knew it, she reached the Land of Wind. In a sense, she reached allied territory as this is where Sunagakure was located. Since the Orochimaru incident, Konoha and Suna have been close allies. Whenever there was a need for help, they would cooperate and come to each others aid. Danzo, however, couldn't trust them. He often reminded them that, in time of peace, they should still remain on guard, because it was also the perfect time to start a war. Yuki was not as pessimistic. She wasn't optimistic either. She could understand that logic, but she also wanted to believe in others. It was what the Third have always reminded her. Doubts lead people to fight while trust lead people to cooperate.

The Land of Wind environment was very different from the Land of River or of Fire. It was much drier. It was suffocating. Although it wasn't her first time in the Land of Wind, it's geography was constantly changing because of the blowing wind and movable sand dunes. Her white hair stood out even more now in the dull desert colors. Slowly, the wind grew stronger and Yuki was, then, forced to take refuge in a small nearby town. It was almost like a ghost town. She walked into one of the motels there and asked for a room.

"Are you sure you want to stay here, little girl?" Asked the old owner. He had to be at least 75 years of age. His eyes were constantly tearing from the dryness and had lost the sparkle a young human would have.

"It's really windy out there. I don't have much of a choice." Yuki replied. "It's not good for businesses to turn away guests, you know?"

"It's not safe here." He said as he grabbed the keys for her room. "Especially for a young girl like you."

"I'll take the risk for not getting blown away."

Her room was not big, but was clean. That's really all she could ask for. Her windows were closed to prevent the flying sand from pouring into the room. She sat down at the desk and started writing her report to Danzo about Hidan and Kakuzu. She decided to omit Itachi's appearance. She also wrote another letter to Tsunade which contained more details and asked her for updates about the village. Although she couldn't speak of Danzo, she still had the ability to remind the Hokage of the dangers in the other Lands. In this case, it was related to a group of highly skilled shinobis who showed hostility towards Naruto, a shinobi from Konohagakure. She summoned two little rabbits who were both only asked for whenever she needed messages to be delivered. Carefully instructing them, she then sent them off on their way.

Night time in the Land of Wind was very chilly. The suffocating hot weather drastically changed as the sun set. The wind was cold, the land was cold. The living conditions were not easy in this land. Yuki headed to bed early that night and wrapped herself in the blankets to keep her warm. As she closed her eyes, she heard footsteps outside her room. Suddenly, her door was knocked down and the shook the whole room.

"Please! I beg you to stop..." she heard the old owner pleading whoever had just broken into her room.

"Raid this room!" she heard a thick voice order.

Yuki rolled her eyes in her bed, before rolling out of bed, yawning.

"With whose permission?" she asked still rubbing her eyes.

As she finally managed to open her eyes, ten men were standing in front of her. One of them, most likely the leader and the one who ordered her room to be raided, was grabbing the owner by his collar. She pointed at him:

"You really should respect your elder."

He laughed and said to her:

"I could spare your life if you give us all your belongings, kiddo."

"I could spare your life if you let him go."

He shoved the old man to the side and glared at her:

"Is that a challenge?"

"Is it accepted?" Yuki asked back, now annoyed that she was disturbed from her sleep by a bunch of hooligans.

He gave sign for his men to charge ahead at Yuki. All slow and rather clumsy, it took no time for Yuki to send them all flying out either the door or the window. Their leader spat on the floor and rolled up his sleeves all the way to his shoulders. She then noticed that he had a tattoo on his right shoulder. If she wasn't mistaken, it was the emblem for the ANBU from Sunagakure.

"What's an ANBU doing raiding poor people's places instead of protecting them?" she then asked him.

He glanced at his tattoo, then grinned evilly:

"Protecting them? Sunagakure doesn't give a s*it about them. Why should I? I don't want to become one of those poor people."

He then ran towards her with great speed and strength, making her back up and exiting the motel through a hole that was made by one of his men as she had kicked him out. They were now in the streets. Yuki landed gracefully and lightly onto the ground, while he landed heavily, making a lot of noise and waking up the few people who were in the village.

"So you deserted Suna?" Yuki asked brushing off the dust on her clothes gently, still not finding him a worth opponent.

A funny thing about her was that she found no pleasure in fighting people who didn't deserve her respect. People who used brute force to take advantage of others were the worst scums to her. It wasn't that she was pretentious. She just felt like people needed to be deserving of her time to be worth the fight. The outcome was never something that she was interested in. It was the fight itself. To her, the man in front of her was nothing but a brute, a criminal and worthless piece of human.

"You are probably not from around here. Let me tell you, a lot of people have left Suna. That place has no future. They rely on another village for their survival. They rely on a monster to survive. They actually protect that filthy monster. I'm not doing that job. Do you know how many peers I've lost? That monster..."

Before he could finish, he pushed away by a gush of wind. He slammed into an electricity pole and passed out. The wind came from behind Yuki. It was precisely aimed, avoided her and yet caused plenty of damage. Yuki looked around and saw the kunoichi that fought against Shikamaru in the last round of the Chunnin exam, Temari. Her fan was spread out and, from behind it, her two brothers walked out. She closed her fan. All three were now walking towards Yuki.

"I remember you." said the one named Kankuro. "Konohagakure, right?"

"Her name is Yuki." said Gaara.

"You actually remember." said Yuki with a smile. "I'm guessing you are here to take that guy back."

"He is only one of the many." Temari said as Kankuro went to grab the man and lock him up in one of his puppets. "Since that incident, a lot of our ANBUs have been on the loose, creating chaos in small towns like these. We've actually asked Konoha to lend us a hand. When I saw you, I assumed that's what you were here fore. Judging from your tone, you weren't made aware of it."

"I'm actually on a break right now." Yuki lied. "Just travelling the world. I needed that since the Third passed away. I didn't think I would run into such trouble."

"Travelling?" asked Gaara, obviously doubting that it was the truth. "I'm surprised they allowed an ANBU to simply travel when the village is short on shinobis."

Kankuro then brought a kunai close to her throat:

"What are you really here for?"

Yuki didn't flinch at the cold blade resting on neck. Her expression remained the same. She looked into Gaara's eyes as she repeated:

"I'm just travelling the world."

"Gaara, what should we do with her?"

He didn't speak for a bit. Gaara's eyes were much gentler now than what she remembered. He didn't have a murderous aura around him like he used to. He seemed to have made peace with himself and the One-Tail that lived within him. His siblings also spoke to him without fear. She heard that they had assisted the Genins during the Sasuke's recovery mission. At first she didn't believe it, but now that she met them once again, it wasn't a hard to thing to imagine.

"Let her go."

"She's a spy. You know it!" Kankuro said. "I don't care if she's an ally, the fact that she's not telling us why she's truly here for..."

Yuki smiled at Gaara. She then flashed herself away from Kankuro's grip and into her motel room where she grabbed her belongings. She sat on the balcony and looked down at Kankuro who was still in shock at what had just happened.

"I'll come with you willingly wherever. How does that sound? You guys could be my tour guides!" She said cheerfully as she swung her bag around onto her shoulders.

She jumped down from there at Kankuro and Temari's unhappy expressions. Gaara didn't seem to bothered by that statement. He always found her intriguing. It was in manner, in her fearlessness, in her kindness that Gaara was interested. He still remembered their brief conversation on the rooftop. She said that they had things in common. She was the first one to address him with _we_. She made him feel like he was part of something. Although he didn't recognize it then, he definitely could now. As for Yuki, Gaara was also a very interesting character to her. He was simply misunderstood what she could see. Part of the mission or not, she wanted to know more about him. She wanted to know him for more than the One-Tail and the reports about him. Without further delay, she made her way with them to the doorsteps of Sunagakure. She wasn't exactly welcomed, but they tolerated her presence. She promised herself, as she walked in, to not stay here longer than needed. She didn't need to feel attached to another place. However, she could already tell, as she made that promise to herself, that something or someone would make Sunagakure feel like a second home.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 33**

* * *

Thank you for reading!

I really enjoy reading your reviews, so leave me some!

xox

Krystal


	35. Chapter 34: Trust

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 34: Trust**

* * *

 **L** ead by Gaara and his two siblings, Yuki entered the Sand village under doubtful eyes. She wasn't too affected by those glaring eyes as she was expecting them. However, whether one expects such reactions or not, he or she cannot fully be indifferent about it. Yuki was no exception. She felt slightly uncomfortable.

"Don't let it bother you. They give everyone this look if they're not from the village." Gaara whispered into her ear.

She was really thankful for those warm words. She also did not expect it from Gaara. As they walked towards the Kazekage office, they were greeted by a man who Yuki recognized as Gaara's sensei, Baki. He looked at her without evil intention, but suspicion. She didn't blame him.

"We found her wandering in the Land of Wind. She's an ANBU from Konoha." Kankuro told him.

"So, she's the help that Tsunade-sama sent?" asked Baki, relaxing his face now.

"Not exactly. She's not telling us why she trespassed into the territory." Temari replied.

"Trespassed? I don't think you can call this trespassing as our two countries are at peace. It's not like I sneaked in and got caught either. I've told you multiple times now. I'm not currently on duty. I'm simply travelling around." Yuki said, offended by Temari's answer.

"And that's what she's been telling us." Temari told Baki, sighing.

"As long as she doesn't want to harm us, she's the welcomed since she is from Konohagakure." said Baki. "However, I would prefer for our interrogation team to question you before you stay any longer here in the village."

"I will willingly be questioned." Yuki answered confidently.

Yuki was well versed in interrogation techniques. She was trained by the famous Morino Ibiki. There were no better interrogator in this world. He taught her everything he knew. At this point, she was confident that nothing could make her talk. In all honesty, the only thing that could make her spill would be the effects of the Sharingan. As far as she knew, the only person that could make her confess would be, therefore, Itachi. Furthermore, because she knew so much about the village, she developed multiple locking mechanisms in her mind to prevent people from accessing any information. She was confident that even Inoichi Yamanaka, despite his clan's advanced mind reading technique, would have a hard time accessing intelligence coming from Yuki. Danzo also placed a cursed seal to prevent her from talking about him. Although it would reveal that she was hiding something, at least, she wouldn't talk.

Her confidence pleased Baki. She seemed to have gained his trust. He told her to follow him. He brought her to this room where a single man was sitting in there. Politely, he asked her to sit down. She did as instructed. She sat down calmly.

"Yuki-san, if you don't mind, I'll be asking you a few questions as you are attached onto this lie detector."

"Please do. I have nothing to hide."

"Thank you."

He installed the wires onto her and checked a few things before beginning the interrogation:

"How long have you been in the Land of Wind for now?"

"Just a day, then I ran into Gaara, Temari and Kankuro."

"Where were you before?"

"I was in the Land of River, your neighbor."

"Why did you come here?"

"I'm just travelling the world. I was granted permission to do so."

"Who granted you permission?"

"Tsunade-sama put me off duty. I'm sure you can send a hawk to ask her to confirm this information."

Although she didn't bid farewell to the Hokage, she did write in her letter that night that she would be travelling the world as an excuse for spying on the other villages. Whether Tsunade agreed to Danzo's ways or not, Yuki was certain that the Hokage would protect her under any circumstances. The interrogator did as Yuki said. He asked Baki to send out a hawk to Konohagakure asking about this fact. The lie detector did not show any lies coming from Yuki either.

"Anything else you would like to ask?" Yuki asked gently.

As she said that, the door of the interrogation room swung open.

"I have one!"

It was Kankuro.

"Go ahead." said Yuki.

"Are you a friend or a foe?"

Yuki chuckled. It was such a childish question.

"I think that question itself is the answer. In this kind of situation, would anyone reply that he is a foe? Is this your first time interrogating someone?"

"So, you are telling me that someone attached to a lie detector would lie despite knowing that it would be revealed?"

"I'm just reminding you that this is a machine and that the human's mind is much stronger than that."

"Are you confessing to having been lying all this time?"

"I'm just saying that questions that allow itself to be answered without an answer aren't worth asking."

Kankuro walked over to her and grabbed her by the collar:

"Let's say we trust you for now."

"You don't, obviously."

"Gaara does."

"Is this about him, then?"

"He trusts you. He's been telling us that. It angers me that he wants to trust someone like you, an outsider. I can't afford for him to trust someone undeserving. He never trusts anyone right away, not even his siblings."

"You are telling me that after all these years, you actually care about him now? Maybe that's why it took him so long to trust you."

"Why, you..." Kankuro started, his eyes filled with anger and hate now.

"Do you want to know why he trusts me now, despite all the risks he's taking in trusting me?"

"Enlighten me."

"I never treated him like he was monster despite knowing what resided within him. I never feared him. I reached out to him when he was isolated. You can ask him all about it if you don't believe me."

"You knew?"

"I know a lot of things people think I shouldn't know."

Kankuro let go of her. He calmed down. He leaned against the table, his face turned away from Yuki. She then placed her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. She felt for him. He must have felt all the pressure of being a good older brother only recently. He didn't know better. As if her hand had magical power to it, Kankuro smiled and felt a ease all of the sudden. He looked at the interrogator and said:

"I'm done. I'm guessing you are too."

"I was actually going to ask a few more questions."

"If you want to ask something about the Leaf Village, just know that I won't be able to answer any of those questions. Besides, it defeats the purpose of this interrogation session. Furthermore, if I were to report back to the Leaf Village that during my stay here, I was questioned for intel by Sunagakure's shinobis, I'm not sure of how they would react. I heard your current situation wasn't too stable. Let's not think about it, shall we?"

The interrogator bit his lip and sighed. He had no choice but to undo the wires and let her go. Kankuro couldn't help but smile at that. He realized that he learned nothing about her, but that he, somehow, trusted her. He even gained respect for her for standing her ground and maintaining her composure through this whole situation.

"I'll show you to your quarters." Kankuro then told her.

* * *

 **A** s they were walking through the village, Kankuro played the role of the tour guide, telling her where everything was, where to eat, what to do during her stay. They chatted cheerfully. Yuki grew to like Kankuro as well. Although he didn't seem like an older brother before, he certainly looked the part and played the part well now. She remembered the Kankuro that picked a fight with a kid like Konohamaru. Yet now, he would pick up a ball and play with the kids along the way.

"I'm still so awkward around Gaara." He then suddenly confessed to her. "Sometimes, I don't know what to do. I mean, I didn't interact with him for the longest time. Now that I want to, I don't know how."

"You obviously care a lot for him now. Just treat him with that care and love."

"Can you tell?"

"You obviously were afraid that I would utilize his trust to my advantage and, therefore, hurt him. If that's not caring, I don't know what is."

"I feel like I could do more for him."

"Like?"

"Like you said... Our village is in an unstable state right now. We don't have a Kazekage to lead. The obvious choice would be Gaara, but people still don't trust him. People still fear him. Many have deserted the village because they are afraid that he will become Kazekage. I want people to see him for who he is. I think he would be a brilliant one, the best one we've ever had."

"What about your father? Was he not a great Kazekage?"

"Father... He created that space between us siblings. Someone who couldn't even help his family... Gaara is different. He wants to create bonds with people. He was never taught properly. We were never shown how... But his desire is what makes me believe he would be a great Kazekage. You know, his will to bring people together."

"I also believe that Gaara would be a great Kazekage." Yuki said looking up the sky. "There's something special about him."

"You see it too."

"He's just like a star in the sky. In bright daylight, he's there, but can't show himself. People won't acknowledge his presence. However, in the darkness, like this, he will shine. He will guide people. Eventually, he'll become someone people will rely on and trust to be there for them no matter what."

"You really think so?"

"I know so. He already gained one, did he not?"

"Who?"

"You, Mr-He-Wants-To-Kill-Me."

"Hey, I never... Actually, that thought crossed my mind so many times before. I guess you are right."

"He's really lucky to have you and Temari as his siblings. He will never be alone with you both here."

"Add yourself to that. He won't ever be alone with you around either."

"I'm not always going to be around." Yuki said. "I'll eventually have to leave. I'm not from here."

"As long as you are staying here, you can call this home. Gaara said so and, now, I'm saying so to."

 _Home_. Yuki never thought she would find another place like Konoha to call home. She was glad to hear those words from Kankuro. It was the second time today that she heard such warm words. It had been a while since she felt the warmth. Since the Third passed away, she kept calling Konoha home despite it feeling colder and colder by the day. _Home_. She felt it the moment she reached Sunagakure's doorstep for some reason. It kept getting confirmed but the kindness that Gaara had shown her and that now Kankuro had shown her. As she now reached her quarters, she really felt like she had come home. The window allowed her to have a splendid view of the village. _Home_. As Kankuro bid her a goodnight, she sat on her window frame, her feet dangling outside. She wasn't sure if she trusted the village itself just yet. However, she knew that she could trust the Sand Siblings, as they constantly reminded her to feel at ease here. As the night grew, the wind became colder and Yuki decided it was time for her to go to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a new day in this place she felt like she belonged in.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 34**

* * *

Thank you for reading.

xox

Krystal


	36. Chapter 35: From Memory

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 35: From Memory**

* * *

 **U** nknowingly, Yuki started to join the Sand Siblings on their missions. At first, she was just tagging along because she felt bored, but as she spent more time with them, she felt like she was a part of the team. They also gladly had her join them. Temari was hard to convince at first. She wasn't too pleased at the idea that they had to rely on an outsider to help. However, they quickly bonded over teasing Kankuro. As the atmosphere was lightened, their relationship also improved. They became just as close as sisters were.

 **T** here were a lot of ANBUs from Sunagakure that went rogue after the Fourth Kazekage died. A lot believed that their village was too weak to fend itself and lost faith in the village. Others believed that Gaara would become Kazekage and hated the idea. They couldn't stand the idea that a kid would lead their village, let alone a kid who was known to have murdered countless of people, including their peers. Most of the missions consisted of chasing down the rogue ninjas and to bring them back to the village. First, it was to prevent intel about the village to be spread out. Second, some caused harm and needed to be punished. Third, some were planning a rebellion against the current village. Because they were ANBUs, they were not easy to tackle.

Yuki also learned on the side the art of puppetry with Kankuro. He enjoyed teaching her and she enjoyed learning it. He was often impressed at how quickly she got the hang of thing. She, however, found the making of puppets a little creepy. When he would be making puppets and talking to them as if they were humans, she would be sitting in a corner, reading. On her free time, she would be a the Sand Village's library with Gaara. They would go through the basics of administration in order to prepare him for the day he would become Kazekage. She also enjoyed reading about medical ninjutsus. She was impressed at the amount of books the village had about it until she remembered that the famous Chiyo lived here. If there was one person that could compete against Tsunade when it came to medical ninjutsus, it would be Chiyo.

Just like that, the days went by for Yuki. As she got used to her life in Sunagakure, she began forgetting to send weekly reports to Danzo to update him. She even forgot for a moment that she was part of the Foundation. Every night, after having dinner with the three siblings, she would go back to her quarters, admire the beauty of the architecture of Sunagakure and fall asleep almost immediately. That night was no different. However, as she closed the window, preventing the cold wind from seeping in, and walked over to blow out the candle, she sensed a presence in the room. She grabbed onto a kunai she had placed by her bed. Someone, then, grabbed her by the wrist and pinned her onto the bed, arm bent behind her back, making her drop the kunai. He, judging by his stature, prevented her from forming signs with her hands to flash herself away from his grasps. He knew her well. Using her flexibility, she managed to kick him and got him to let go of her for a bit. She then, however, sensed something tying her legs up and she fell onto the ground. The same thing wrapped itself around her wrists and attached them to each other while separating her fingers to prevent any sign formation. He then grabbed her and put her back onto the bed.

"It's been so long you cannot even recognize my chakra." He then said.

"Sai!" She said as she recognized both his chakra and voice.

"Oh, you do remember."

"Can you let me go now?"

"Release."

As he said that, the ink snakes broke and Yuki's limbs were free.

"Danzo-sama sent me here because he hasn't heard from you in a while."

"I forgot to send in the reports. Just tell him nothing has changed."

"I read in a book that when someone says that, it means otherwise."

"You read too much." Yuki said as she went to light the candle to allow her to see Sai and her surrounding. "How have you been?"

"I've been completing my missions as usual."

"Did you kill a lot of people?"

"My fair share." He answered coldly.

"I wasn't expecting an answer."

"But you asked a question."

"Not all questions have to be answered."

"That's the first time I've heard that. I always answer questions I've been asked. I must answer them honestly too if they come from the Foundation. Just how I must answer to Danzo-sama about you."

"What did he ask you?"

"He asked me to check on you. He was worried since he heard no news."

"I thought you were supposed to be honest. I can't see Danzo being worried."

"He is though."

"Anything else?"

"No."

"You can tell him I was safe and sound until you came in here and assaulted me."

"You were going to attack me first."

"I just grabbed a kunai, you pinned me onto my bed and tied me up."

"You would have attacked me."

"But I didn't."

Yuki forgot how fun it was to argue with Sai. He was just so innocent. He always said everything that crossed his mind. He didn't know how to read between the lines. He didn't know how to judge a situation properly. He probably thought that she was actually upset, not that he would care because he couldn't exactly feel those emotions.

"So, is that all? I'm actually sleepy right now. I don't want to talk about anything else right now." Yuki said as she took place on her bed.

"Yes. I'm sleeping here tonight here too."

"What? Why?"

"That way I won't have to find a place to stay at this time." He answered casually as he took her blanket and spread it out on the floor.

"You can just sleep on a tree or something... Isn't that how ANBUs are trained?"

"It's cold outside and warm here."

She couldn't argue with that.

"Fine. You better leave when the sun rises. It will blow my cover if they spot you in here."

He nodded as he lied down and closed his eyes almost immediately. Yuki frowned. Even though she was comfortable around men, she wasn't too happy about having one in her bedroom. She always slept by herself. It was fine when they each had their own bedroom, but she didn't like the idea of him being able to watch her when she slept. It was going to be a sleepless night for her.

* * *

 **H** e was very fast asleep. Maybe it was because he knew he was safe, he did not budge at any sound Yuki was making. She snooped around a bit. It wasn't in her nature to want to look at people things, but she remembered that book that he had with him when he was painting at sunrise in Konoha. She was very intrigued by it and wanted to have a look at it. Somehow, she felt like it would reveal a lot about Sai. She went through his bag quietly. There were a few sketchbooks and at the bottom, she found that book. It was old, a little dusty, but the colors of the drawing were still vivid. It really was a self portrait on one side. On the other side, it was boy she had never seen before. He had light blue hair and a gentle face with big eyes. _Sai's brother?_ She thought. It was a possibility as he was the only person said talked about. She opened the book carefully. There were drawings of them defeating enemies after enemies and then blank. There was nothing. It was incomplete. If she followed the logic, the two boys would have to fight each other. Was that Sai's story? Was that how his brother died? As that thought gave her chill, she put the book back at the bottom of the backpack. She then grabbed the other sketchbooks and looked through Sai's art. She was quite impressed with his art. He was able to paint both abstract and realistic work. She couldn't help but smile at the beauty of his work. As she flipped through more pages, she found the painting that he was completing that morning when she learned about his love for art. She turned a couple more and found herself painted. The next few pages were all of her. Eventually, it came back to the usual landscapes that he loved painting. As she went back to look at the portrait he did of her, she sensed a shadow over her head. She turned around and saw Sai standing there. Expressionless, he grabbed the sketchbooks away from her hand and put them into his backpack.

"I read it was rude to go through people's thing without permission."

"It's also very rude to watch and draw people without letting them know."

"I drew them from memory. I wasn't watching you or anything."

There was a silence. Then Sai went ahead and folded the blanket and placed it back onto her bed. He then put on his backpack. He wrapped his cape around him and walked towards the window.

"Are you leaving?" She asked him.

"It's almost sunrise."

"Did Danzo really send you here?"

"Yes."

"Was he really worried?"

"Yes"

"Are you sure? Or was it you?"

"Not all questions have to be answered."

He then opened the window and disappeared as he jumped out. It was the first time, despite his expressionless face, that Yuki felt something human coming out of him. It was also when she realized that, within the cold Foundation, there was someone who cared for her. A gush of wind blew into her room and she stood there, feeling empty, as she came to the realization that she knew nothing about Sai even though she acted like she did. The guilt ate her up. It was the first time she felt like she had made a huge mistake.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 35**

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

I wanted to post two chapters today as I probably won't for a few days.

Let me know what you think in the reviews!

xox

Krystal


	37. Chapter 36: No Goodbyes

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 36: No Goodbyes**

* * *

 **S** he did not hear from since that night. She didn't know whether he was still nearby or gone far away. She sent a message out to him. It should have reached him by that day, but she received no reply. Because she couldn't blow her cover at the Sand Village, she didn't seek him out either. As it kept bothering her, she still kept on going with her life in Sunagakure. Just like any other day, Yuki spent it in the library with Gaara. She was reading up on medical ninjutsus as it was something that she felt the need to improve on. He was reading up on how to handle political tension.

"These seem a little dated." He told her.

They would often discuss about their readings as it helped them gain a new perspective on things.

"Why do you say that?"

"Using people as sacrifices to reduce the tension between countries is said to be the best way to ensure the greatest good for the greatest number of people."

"They are not wrong." Yuki said as she put down her book.

"I don't want to become someone who would willingly sacrifice someone in order to ensure the safety of the country."

"Sacrifices are bound to happen. If you can reduce the harm by doing so, you are going to have to."

"Do agree with the method though?" Gaara asked as he also closed the book he was reading.

"I don't, but I understand its purpose and its efficacy. You really can't deny that."

"It's sad, isn't it?"

"How fragile life is?"

"Yes. It's also scary."

"Having someone hold your life in their hands?"

"No. Having to hold someone's life in your hand. Making that decision." He paused for a second before telling Yuki a little more about how he was feeling. "I always resented my father turning me into a monster, but now that I might have to be in the same position as him, I can somehow understand him. I wonder if it hurt him to do this to me."

He touched the scar on his forehead. Yuki looked out the window. Time was going by really quickly. In no time, Gaara would no longer be able to just sit around here with her. He would be sitting high up in the office, making life and death decisions, dealing with problems he could have ignored. Yuki was reminded of the Third. How hard was it for him when making certain decisions? Then, she remembered Itachi's sacrifice. She remembered how cold and stoic the Third remained when she was breaking down in front of him because that sacrifice. Then she remembered how Neji's father passed away protecting the whole clan, but left behind his young son. She sighed.

"I didn't mean to exhaust you." He then said, noticing how her energy seemed to have been drained.

"No. I just thought of a lot of things. How long have I been here, in Sunagakure, now?"

"It's been a while now. I want to say at least a year?"

"Has it been that long?"

"Why are you asking? Are you thinking of leaving?"

"I... I probably should."

"Stay. I need you." He said as looked at her in the eyes.

"You have your siblings." Yuki replied, looking away. "I've been away for so long."

He didn't insist. He knew that wasn't going to change her mind. Within the year she's been here, he got to know her well. Once she decided on something, there was no way someone could talk her out of it. He sighed and opened his book to where he was. He then pleaded, one last time:

"Just until I become Kazekage, then?"

"Certainly." She replied as she also continued her readings.

* * *

 **B** efore they knew it, the day he would become Kazekage arrived. Everybody was frantically getting ready, with Kankuro being the most nervous. He felt so proud and happy, but he was also very worried something would happen. Yuki didn't blame him. Many of the deserters were still out there. As much as they put effort into capturing any remains of the rebellion, they were just not able to catch everyone. Furthermore, they were unaware if anybody else harbored secretly any hate towards Gaara within the village itself. Temari, Kankuro, Baki and Yuki promised each other to keep an eye open during this day to any suspicious activity.

The ceremony started well. Many villagers grew to know the new Gaara. A lot, especially the younger generation, were happy that he was the new Kazekage. It marked a new era of ruling that, as Gaara promised, would be characterized by peace and partnership between Sunagakure and the other villages. As he was standing on the balcony of the Kazekage's office for everyone to see, Yuki noticed something flying in an interesting pattern in the sky. She asked the guard she was standing next to to lend her his binoculars to have a look. He gave her a dark look and told her to mind her own business. There was no doubt that something was about to happen. She sneaked away and headed over next to Kankuro and told him what she had noticed. He gave her a nod as she headed to the rooftop to have a better look at that flying thing. Its movement made it obvious to her. It was a puppet, shaped like a bird. She turned around and noticed that it wasn't the only one. There was at least another dozen. Before she could even attempt to take them down, they all charged towards Gaara. As expected, his sand immediately came to his protection. Yuki slid down the roof and saw the chakra strings attached to the puppet. She tried following the lines to trace them back to whoever was manipulating it. He was a few hundred meters away from the Kazekage's office. She pulled out her katana and cut those strings to stop the movement of the puppet before heading towards the puppeteer. As she made her move, her eyes met with Gaara and she could read his lips telling her to be careful. She gave him a quick nod and disappeared towards their enemy.

In the corner of her eye, she spotted Kankuro and Temari doing the same. They were headed towards different enemies, but, most likely, coordinated their actions. Judging from the puppets that were seen, there was at least twelve people involved. Observing the way they manipulated their puppets, they all originated from the Sand. Puppeteers weren't known for their strength in close combat. This wasn't any different. Yuki quickly knocked him out and headed out the building where he was hiding. As she stepped out, she noticed that the puppets were now, no longer just attacking Gaara, but they were also causing chaos in the crowd of villagers. Gaara's sand was working hard at protecting both him and the people. Angered by such a scene, Yuki headed down into the crowd to clear out the danger and get everybody to safety. People were running in confusion while others, dressed as Sand shinobi, were chasing them and causing terror. She joined up with Temari who was also clearing the streets in order to prevent death from happening.

"We should have taken more preventive measures." She told Yuki as she shielded some kids with her fan before instructing them to head into one of the businesses nearby.

"I thought that they would target Gaara, but to attack the citizens as well is a new low."

Yuki was now fighting a man whose attack showed his experience as a previous ANBU. He was agile and quick. Yuki was barely able to keep up against him. She couldn't use any flashy moves as it would cause more destruction and could possible harm any by-standers. He, on the other hand, couldn't care less. He was an Earth ninjutsu user. He was quite proficient as well. Yuki tried to lead him to an open space where she would be able to use her lightning jutsus, but he was smart enough not to fall for it.

"Why are you fighting for this village?" He asked her.

"I think the better question would be why are you attacking your own village." She said as she blocked his earth spear with her katana.

He didn't answer. She couldn't read any emotions on his face. She could only assume that he had no real reasons. Perhaps, it was simply the dislike he had for the new Kazekage. It was a bad excuse, but it was an excuse, nonetheless. He was ruthless in his ways. He gave very little care about his surroundings. He would destroy anything on his way. Just when Yuki thought he was only capable of big scale attacks, needles went flying by her. He was now layering his large scale earth ninjutsus with small and fast needles. Just as before, he didn't care whether they would harm any civilians despite Yuki being his only target at the moment. As the ground collapsed, a group of children were exposed to the needles. Occupied by her own obstacles, Yuki could only see the scene unfolding right in front of her eyes. She threw her katana in an attempt to deflect as many needles as possible, leaving herself weaponless in the meantime. As she jumped backwards to avoid the last few needles, she saw that her katana did not deflect all the projectiles.

"Kaiten!" said a very familiar voice as a blast of wind came through and protected the children.

"Neji..." she murmured.

It was indeed Gai's team. Tenten took the children away from the scene as Lee jumped forward and started fighting the man. Yuki finally managed to take a breather under the piercing glaring eyes of Neji.

"Are you here to attend the party?" Yuki asked as she walked over.

"Tsunade-sama was worried that this sort of thing would happen. Therefore she sent a few of us here to ensure everyone's safety. She didn't mention your participation in this mission though."

"I just walked by and stumbled upon this fight." Yuki replied, sarcastically. "But really, not the time to talk right now."

Indeed, a few projectiles came their way and they split in order to avoid them. As one of them passed right under Yuki's nose, she recognized the scent as being a potent poison if ever in contact with blood.

"Lee! Those needles might not hurt if they scratch you, but they are dipped in poison! Be careful!" She yelled out as Lee was being more and more careless about taking blows in order to be able to land a blow.

"Got it!" He answered as he became a little more conservative in his movements. "He's really good. I haven't met someone with such great taijutsu in a while."

"He's an ANBU." Yuki explained as she was fighting some other shinobis who had just arrived on the scene. "They are trained very strictly in each area of fighting."

"You would know that very well." Neji said under his breath at Yuki before turning towards his teammate. "Lee, you should switch opponent with Yuki."

Lee did as he was told despite wanting to continue his fight against that man. Yuki did oppose to the idea, but did not appreciate that comment. She figured this wasn't the time to quarrel, however. The fighting now became fairer as Tenten was able to, alongside with Temari, clear out the streets of any civilians. However, more opponents had joined the fight. They were quickly outnumbered.

"You cannot win this." The man told her. "There are too many who don't think Gaara should become Kazekage."

"He'll prove you wrong."

"That is if he gets the chance to do so."

"I'll make sure he does."

"Over my dead body."

They kept their fight going for a little longer. He then asked her:

"You are an ANBU, aren't you? You are great at masking your techniques, but I can tell now. Konoha's ANBU are weak. You were taught that emotions should not be involved, but I can tell you care about everyone too much."

"And you care too little. You forgot what an ANBU's role is." She replied.

He didn't seem to care. She wasn't wrong. He really did forget, but he also really didn't care.

"Some people don't even know how they came to meet their death..." He said as he grinned.

It was the first time that she saw some emotion on his face. It wasn't emotion. It was evil intent. As she noticed that change on his face, she saw that both Neji and Lee had their backs to them. At that moment, Lee turned around and spotted them. Neji's back was still facing her. She saw needles fly right pass her towards his blind spot. She flashed herself to his side, pulled out a kunai and blocked the first wave of needles. One of them, unfortunately, grazed the side of her cheek. Neji quickly pulled her in and used his Kaiten to deflect the rest of the weapons. As they were spinning inside, Yuki felt the side of her cheek going numb. Her head started to pound as well. As their spinning movement stopped, she saw a figure by the man side that looked very familiar. He was covered by a mask that was typical of Konoha's ANBU's uniforms. He had quietly gone behind him and gave him a fatal blow. He then rushed over and killed the remaining shinobis that were fighting against them. Lee and Neji looked at him in a fearful manner. Although they were aware that shinobis had to kill, it was their first seeing such quick and cold bloodshed. There was no doubt in Yuki's mind of who he was. As the poison spread further into her system, Yuki crumbled to the ground as Neji used himself as a pillow to allow her to land without much impact.

"I'll take her with me." The one who came to their help said to Neji.

"I don't think so..." Neji started, still clutching on tightly to Yuki.

"Let him." Yuki barely managed to say.

"We don't even know him!" Neji told her, obviously upset. "We need to get you to the hospital first."

"I don't want to argue right now." Yuki told him before turning to the ANBU. "Grab my katana on the way, will you?"

He nodded as he picked her up from the ground under the glaring eyes of Neji who did not stand up. He then suddenly grabbed onto Yuki's hand and asked her:

"Are you not going to say goodbye again?"

She smiled as her eyes felt heavy and closed. He let go, feeling through her hand that she was too tired to utter another word. It took them a year to see each other again, yet there was not even time for them to talk. He looked at her being carried away by this unknown shinobi as she wrapped her arms around his neck. As he grabbed her katana from the sandy ground, they vanished in midair leaving one drop of blood falling onto the ground from the open wound on her cheek. She was gone, once again.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 36**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter.

Quick reunion, but bittersweet.

Hope you liked it.

xox

Krystal


	38. Chapter 37: No Thank Yous

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 37: No Thank Yous**

* * *

 **"W** e need to get you treated." He told her as they got away from the rest of the Konohagakure shinobis.

"Did you forget that I am pretty well versed in the art of medical ninjutsu?" Yuki replied weakly. "Just take me to the greenhouse close to hospital. I'll grab a few herbs and we can leave this place."

He did as she told him. She instructed him to wait for her outside as the people from the greenhouse in Sunagakure didn't know him and would most likely attack him considering the current circumstances. She fumbled into the greenhouse where she was greeted by the usual staff.

"I need some Viper's Bugloss flowers, some honey, a towel and a clean bucket of water, please." She requested them as they all hurriedly grabbed from the list.

"Yuki-san, you should also stop by the hospital." One of the people there told her. "You have a high fever, your lips are turning white... You can barely stand."

Yuki shook her head and replied:

"I'm fine."

She washed her wound with the water, wiped it clean, crushed with Viper's Bugloss with her hand, creating a paste, and placed it onto her cheek. She grabbed some more petals and mixed it in the honey and water and drank the concoction. She washed her face once again before closing the wound with her medical ninjutsu. Her fever was still running high, but she could feel herself slowly getting back to normal. She stood up with difficulty, but managed to do so without help. She thanked the staff at the greenhouse before leaving the establishment. Breathing heavily still, she was greeted by the ANBU outside. He had taken off his mask. His pale face was stoic, but she could see some worry lingering in his dark eyes. She gave him a smile before collapsing into his arms, unconscious.

* * *

 **S** he woke up to the sound of a crackling fire. She sat up, wiping the sweat on her forehead away. He was sitting there, just as calm as ever, just as cold as ever. It was already nighttime. She looked around. They were far away from the Sand village. They were still in the Land of Wind. Yuki could tell by the landscape and dry air. Her body still felt heavy and numb, but it was certainly nothing compared to when she was in the greenhouse.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her.

"I'm feeling better." She said as she grabbed the water pouch near the fire pit.

"If that's the case, I'll leave." He then said, grabbing all his things as he stood up. "I still have my mission to complete."

"What is it?"

"All our missions are secrets."

"Why were you still in the Sand Village?" She kept on asking despite his previous answer.

"You should focus on your mission." He replied. "Remember to report back to Danzo-sama regularly."

"Danzo-sama... is that all you know to say?"

"I added your pay for the year into the pouch as per Danzo-sama's instruction. If you need anymore, let him know, he told me."

Yuki pouted. He wasn't answering any of her questions. She figured he would at least answer mission-related questions.

"Did he also tell you where I should be heading next?"

"No."

"Finally! An answer. Thank you!"

"Are you that happy?"

"Can't you tell I'm being sarcastic?"

"Sarcasm? I've read about it..."

"Yes, it is the use of irony..."

"Designed to hurt someone." He finished. "I can't tell, because I can't feel. Now, if that is all, I shall leave."

"Are you being passive aggressive with me right now?" Yuki asked, angry at his reply.

She didn't know why, but Sai kept rubbing her the wrong way. There was something in the way that he replied to her coldly, yet his seemingly caring behavior that bothered her constantly. She never wanted to pick a fight with him, yet she constantly felt the need to argue. It was like neither of them could understand the other, therefore nobody gave in to allow for peace to occur.

"Passive aggressive? That's new." He said in a pensive tone. "I guess I'm not since I'm unaware of its meaning."

"Just because you are unaware of the name of a certain behavior doesn't mean you are not acting in such a way."

"How am I acting?"

"You..."

"I'm not acting right now."

"You are right. You are not acting. You are being a brat."

His fake smile vanished.

"You said you can't feel anything, right?" Yuki pushed him further. "I think you just felt every word I just said. It doesn't feel very good now, does it?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Stop lying!"

"I am not. I think you are confused."

"Tell me how."

"I really can't feel anything. You can say all you want to me. You can use sarcasm in an attempt to hurt me. It won't work." He said, now pointing to his heart. "This. It doesn't ever change."

"How would you know if you haven't tested it?"

"What..."

"How do you know that your heart doesn't change if you haven't tried to see if it changed?"

"I..."

"The simple fact that you are aware of its beating, that you think it hasn't changed... It means, at least to me, that you felt something, therefore you checked your heart. It is not with your heart that you feel, but it's with every part of your body. Once your brain started thinking about feelings, you have already felt. I don't care how stable your heart is..."

"You are wrong."

"I am not."

He didn't say another word. He simply slipped on his backpack and turned his back to her.

"Remember to report back to Danzo-sama."

Those were his last words before disappearing into the night. Yuki put out the fire before leaving the premises as well. It didn't go the way she had wanted it to go. There was a lot more she wanted to say. There was a lot more on her mind. However, time and circumstances were not on their side. Perhaps, they were never meant to be more than teammates. She wanted more and, maybe, he did too. It was just not going to happen.

"I didn't even get to say a genuine thank you to you, Sai..." She murmured as she ventured into the darkness of the night.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 37**

* * *

Much more of a filler to bring Yuki's travel to Sunagakure to a closure than a full chapter. I hope you don't mind. I also wanted to give Sai a little bit more dimension and depth.

Hope you liked it!

Let me know in the reviews!

xox

Krystal


	39. Chapter 38: Secrets

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 38: Secrets**

* * *

 **I** t was pouring outside. Yuki had set up a tent and was sitting by its opening staring at the gloomy weather. She forgot how often the rain poured it this country. She was in proximity of Amegakure, a village known for its constant downpour, but nothing else. She was going to set up camp nearby for a few days before wandering in direction of Kumogakure. She always had an interest for Kumogakure for many reasons. First, it was the amount of shinobis who had lightning as their nature transformation. Kumogakure was known for having knowledge of the most extensive lightning ninjutsus among the Great Villages. Secondly, she often read about the Fourth Hokage's encounter with the current Raikage. No one was said to be able to match his speed. She wanted to see for herself. Finally, she wanted to see what kind of people lived in Kumogakure as they were known for being quite despicable in their diplomacy. Because she was an ANBU, she knew that many promises that were made by the Hidden Village in the Clouds were not kept. They also, too often, kidnapped people from other villages for the sake of knowledge. An example that Yuki could think of was the Hizashi Hyuuga incident which left Neji to be all by himself, resenting the Hyuuga clan.

As she thought about her route, Neji's name came up in her mind. She felt sad when thinking about him. There was a sentiment of longing, but also there was a feeling of relief because she didn't have to talk to him. There wasn't much she could explain. However, she didn't want him to keep on wondering. She kept going back to the fact that she didn't probably bid him farewell as she embarked on this lonely journey. She then remembered about Gaara and his siblings. She also left Sunagakure without a word. She wasn't good at saying goodbye. It was perhaps for the best.

The rain got heavier as the night grew. The water washed out everything and its sound also silenced every other surrounding noise. Yuki didn't mind it. She always enjoyed listening to the pouring rain. As loud as it was, she found it calming. It was in its monotony that she found comfort. It left her thinking that nothing was happening. It was only then that she heard a scream that managed to break the silence created by the rain. It was the sound someone made when being slashed by a sharp blade.

"Foolish spies..." said a deep voice. "How dare you even..."

"Shhh...There might be others here." Another one said.

She, then, heard them leave. They didn't spot her. The moment she heard the scream, Yuki had collapsed her tent and hid herself in a tree, looking from above down to the scene that unfolded in front of her eyes. The two voices were from shinobis wearing the Amegakure's forehead protector. Both were seemingly highly skilled in the art of assassination as they finished off two Iwagakure spies who both carried the typical ANBU uniform from their own village. The assassination was carried out quickly and left very little traces, besides, any traces would be erased by the rain. It was already draining the blood away from their dead bodies. Yuki climbed down the tree and took a look at the two corpses. As she took a step closer, she realized that there were exploding tags on them. Just as they were about to go off, Yuki flashed herself away, back to her tent which was a few hundred meters away, far from the perimeter of the explosion. _Such ruthless methods, yet effective way to prevent anybody from getting intel._ She thought as she grabbed all her things. It wasn't wise for her to stay longer here. She was probably not going to find out much about the village. If she did, she probably would end up like those two Iwagakure spies. At least she learned one thing: Amegakure had a lot to hide. It was something that nobody knew and that they wanted to keep that way.

* * *

 **A** few days passed and Yuki was now close to the Hidden Village in the Grass. There wasn't much about the village that interested her. They were allies of Konohagakure and had very little military force. Even though it didn't mean that they weren't a threat at all to the village, Konoha had means the get rid of them if it wanted to. To Yuki, it was just nice to finally see the sun. As much as she liked the rain, the warmth of the sun brushing on her skin was something that she missed having. As she sunbathed a little on a hill with her eyes shut, she heard footsteps coming towards her. She smiled. If she wasn't wrong, she knew who they were. There was no way she would mistake his chakra for another's. She was actually happy to stumble across them. The journey was just starting to feel very lonely.

"Ah! Yuki!?" A very cheerful voice said. "It's so nice to finally see a familiar face!"

"Same. It's nice to see you, Naruto." Yuki replied opening her eyes and smiling at him.

He was accompanied by Jiraiya who also had a smile on his face, but looked slightly uncomfortable as he was clutching onto his chest with one hand. He looked at her and she grasped an idea of what was going on.

"Naruto," she started. "There's a really nice waterfall nearby where you could bathe in. I'm not saying you smell, but..."

"I gotcha..." He said, pouting a little.

"I'll buy you ramen if you go wash up?"

"Hehe, you always know the best way to get things done your way. I'll see you later, Ero-sennin! You better not run away, Yuki!"

He cheerfully ran towards the waterfall Yuki alluded to. Yuki's smile turned into a frown as Jiraiya finally collapsed onto his back, his hand still on his chest.

"I almost died."

"Let me have a look at the wound." Yuki said. "I might not be as skilled as Tsunade-sama, but I can at least relieve you from the pain."

"Always just as observant."

"I couldn't help but notice. You are not very good at hiding your emotions, Jiraiya-sama."

"Fooled Naruto, though."

Yuki chuckled. Naruto was indeed an innocent and simple minded person. Anything could fool him. It was something she liked about him. When she was around him, she didn't have to think about much. Things that she wanted to hide, she could simply hide. He wouldn't question it. He wouldn't even be aware of it.

Jiraiya loosened his top and allowed her to examine the wound. It was deep, burnt and still bleeding in multiple spots. Jiraiya did his best to bandage it, but it wasn't treated. She took off the bandages and started healing the open wounds first. Jiraiya's face twisted at the pain.

"It won't last for too long. Once all the external wounds are closed, the pain will subside as well. This will definitely scar though."

"I'm so glad we ran into you. I really would've died, if not."

"You would have lived, but you wouldn't have been able to hide it from Naruto."

"He knows he injured me."

"He came to his senses immediately after?"

"I sealed it in time before he lost all his senses."

"How many tails?"

"4. He can still hear you after the fourth tail emerges. However, it's only a matter of time before he can't recognize his friends any longer. I've been trying to teach him to use the chakra to his advantage, but without allowing the Kyuubi to take over him. I guess that day we pushed a little too hard."

"Is that seal the only thing that can contain the chakra?"

"As far as I know, for now, yes. It requires this little tag here." Jiraiya said as he pulled it out from his pocket. "It's a chakra-suppressing seal. It worked up until this point, but if he ever..."

"Let's hope not."

All the wounds were healed. It did leave a scar like Yuki said earlier. However, Jiraiya was no longer in pain. It was still uncomfortable for him to move around as the skin was crumbled up, but it was much preferred over the previous unbearable pain. He sat back up and wrapped his shirt back tightly before asking:

"You are now working under Danzo?"

"I guess you could say that." Yuki said as she sighed. "I never liked the man."

"Me neither. I don't understand why..."

"I might be mistaken, but it is most likely because of these." Yuki said as she pointed to her eyes.

"Your eyes?"

"You haven't heard?"

"I might know a lot, but I feel like you are someone with a lot of secrets I don't actually know."

"I assumed Tsunade-sama told you."

"I guess she thought it would be best for you to tell me yourself."

Yuki closed her eyes and opened them. Jiraiya couldn't help but to show his surprise.

"You..."

"I don't know why either..."

"The Sharingan?"

"Not just any."

She blinked once again and its pattern changed once again: double rings around the pupils with a petal pattern from the edge of the iris to the center.

"Mangekyo?!" Jiraiya said in astonishment.

"My sharingan first appeared when I learned of the Uchiha's massacre. I was so close to Itachi. I couldn't believe that he would kill his whole clan. The Mangekyo appeared when the Third died. When I saw his body on that rooftop, these eyes just changed and I saw it clearer than I ever wanted to see his death."

"Danzo, in all of this..."

"Kakashi once told me that his eye was targeted by a member of the Foundation. I don't know why Danzo wants the Sharingan, but I know that he does. I don't know if he knows I have these eyes, but I just assumed he did."

"He does have eyes and ears everywhere in the village. Especially, after the Third passed away, he probably got someone to watch everybody who was close to the Third."

"That's what I thought."

Yuki then sensed Naruto's chakra coming closer and stopped Jiraiya from saying anymore:

"Let's head into the village and grab some ramen."

Jiraiya nodded as they both walked over to Naruto. As they walked down the hill towards the village, Yuki sensed another presence nearby. She couldn't pinpoint it. However, she felt watched all of the sudden. She chose to ignore it as Naruto was around, but she remained on her guard, just in case.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 38**

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

xox

Krystal


	40. Chapter 39: Blindsided

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 39: Blindsided**

* * *

 **"I** t's still not as good as Ichiraku's ramen." Naruto said as he finished his second bowl of noodles.

Yuki chuckled as she paid for the meal as promised. As they left the ramen stand, Yuki looked at Jiraiya and smiled:

"I guess I'll get going then. It was nice seeing the two of you here. It really made my day."

"Eh?! Already?!" Naruto asked.

"I have my own mission to complete, sorry, Naruto." Yuki simply replied.

"What do you have to do? Maybe we can help!"

"Sorry, I can't tell you that."

"But we are from the same village."

"Naruto, you know missions are confidential."

"Naruto," Jiraiya finally intervened. "You shouldn't make things difficult for her. We are not heading the same way anyway."

"But..."

"No, buts!" Jiraiya scolded him.

Yuki chuckled. She enjoyed seeing the interaction between the two of them. They were both so lighthearted, cheerful no matter what. It made her happy just watching them. She was also glad that Naruto found himself another figure to look up to. As Naruto continued to beg Jiraiya to get her to tag along, Yuki vanished into the thin air with a smile on her face.

* * *

 **I** t was many days of walking before she finally entered the Land of Lightning. She knew the location of Kumogakure was hard to find as they remained very secretive, even to their allies. She figured she would have to wait until she stumbled upon a shinobi from the village heading back to his home. She wandered around the Land for a bit, going from village to village. She constantly felt like she was being watched. However, every time that sensation came to her, it would immediately disappear with a head turn from her part. Because of this, Yuki avoided empty areas. It felt safer to her to be surrounded by people. Despite not knowing who was a friend and who was a foe, at least, if anything happened, there would be eyewitnesses.

Maybe it was her luck, eventually, she did cross path with a shinobi from Kumogakure. He was still very young. He was probably around her age. He was accompanied by an older man wearing sunglasses and who kept on blabbering in rhymes. It was probably his teacher. She decided she would follow those two in order to figure out where Kumogakure was located. She kept her distances, however, in order to ensure that they wouldn't discover her. Konoha and Kumo weren't exactly ally, nor were they enemies. However, they kept their businesses as private as possible. Yuki wasn't sure she would be welcomed if they found out she was a shinobi from the Leaf.

She stepped foot outside the town that hosted her for the past five days for the first time. It was nice to be out in the open once again. For a moment she forgot about whoever was tracking her and simply enjoyed the fresh air the wilderness had to offer. As she felt refreshed, she felt a cold blade resting on her neck. An arm wrapped around her shoulders as her own hands were immobilized by some substance. She could no longer move. She felt a body right behind her as the arm tightened its grip. She could tell it was a man, not much taller than her. As she closed her eyes, she sensed his chakra. It was too familiar. She wanted to deny his identity, but there was no way she was mistaken.

"You..."

"You kept asking about my mission. I guess you figured it out now."

"Then push it in." Yuki said, in a calm voice. "What are you waiting for?"

"We could do this the easy way."

"There's no easy way, now is there?"

"I'm not after your life."

Yuki chuckled. Was this mercy? She could sense him moving a little behind her. His grip loosened a little, but it went back to the way it was instantly. He wasn't one to be weak. He was just taken aback by her reaction. With his movement, however, the blade made a slight incision into Yuki's neck. A drop of warm blood touched Sai's skin. He quickly moved his tanto out a bit as she could sense him staring at the wound he had just made on her. Even though it wasn't a deep injury, the fact that it was someone she cared for who made it, it felt much worse. It wasn't just the open wound that was hurting her. Her heart felt pain as well. It was a gut wrenching feeling to have someone she trusted, with doubt perhaps, but still trusted betray whatever bond they had for the sake of a mission.

"Wouldn't be much easier with me dead though?"

"I only do what's necessary of my mission. I don't want to harm you."

"And yet this blade is resting against my skin, ready to end my life at any moment."

"Like I said, we could do this the easy way." He repeated himself.

Yuki could tell that he truly didn't want her dead. Perhaps it was because there was some form of bond that they have created over the months of knowing each other. However, she knew that if it was someone else's head between his hands right now, that person would've been dead a while ago now. As she remained in the same position, he shifted his hand upwards and the blade was now just in front of her eyes.

"These are all I need."

"You can't have them while I'm alive."

"Yuki, this is very unnecessary."

"What is truly unnecessary is Danzo having them."

"I know nothing about that. All I know is that this is the mission I've been entrusted with."

"I guess we will have to do this the hard way then." Yuki replied as she pushed him back with her whole body before falling onto the ground.

As the blade was near her, in her fall, it slashed her arm, near the shoulder and stained her snow white hair with the blood remaining on the blade. A few strands of hair was also cut and fell onto the grass just like snow crystals would have. Yuki couldn't move much despite not being restrained by Sai. Her hands and feet were covered in his ink making it impossible to weave signs or to run. She had landed on her front. She couldn't see him behind her. She could feel tears of anger and frustration filling her eyes up. He was so despicable to her. He walked over and turned her around, onto her back. He was standing over her with no emotions behind his eyes. His face was just as cold as ever. She forgot how cold he always looked because she had convinced herself he was more than what he made himself seem. As he went on his knees and looked at her in the eyes, she spat at him. She didn't know what else to do.

"You seem angry."

"You would too if you were in my situation."

"I wouldn't feel anything."

"I can't even look at you right now."

"Soon enough, you won't have to."

He raised his hand that was holding the tanto and brought it close to her eyes. He stopped however. He took a moment to stare at her in the eyes. He liked her eyes. He might not have been able to express it, but he was always mesmerized by the light in her eyes. Something about the way she looked at him, or just anything really, made him feel something that he couldn't explain. It felt like a shame to him, but it was his mission, to gauge her eyes out and bring them back to Danzo. He just wanted, one last time, to see that sparkle in her eyes. However, her eyes were filled with anger at that moment. There wasn't a light there. It was more filled with darkness. It was hatred. It was the look Sai read about too many times, but couldn't understand until that day.

"I think in this situation I must say I'm sorry." He said.

"You should feel it."

"I don't feel..."

"You are lying." Yuki said as her eyes filled up with tears.

"I'm sorry..." He said as he brought his weapon even closer.

Yuki closed her eyes as the tears rolled down her face. She prepared herself to lose sight of everything around her. She swore to never look at him again, listen to him, to smell his scent, to feel him again. She regretted everything. She regretted thinking that he deserved her thank you. She regretted thinking that he was more than just a pawn to Danzo. She regretted believing in him despite seeing what he could do. She regretted ignoring the fact that he was a cold-hearted ANBU. She regretted seeing him as a human being. At that very moment, at the moment she thought of Sai as a monster, she heard a metal clashing sound and footsteps rushing towards her. She passed out after that sound, finally breathing since she had closed her eyes.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 39**

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it!

xox

Krystal


	41. Chapter 40: Broken

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 40: Broken**

* * *

 **S** he kept hearing voices right by her ear. She could hear them loud and clear. They were asking about her, whether she would wake up or not. She could hear everything, but she couldn't respond. It wasn't that she couldn't respond, it was that she didn't want to respond. She didn't want to wake up. Yuki wanted to sleep forever and forget about what had happened between her and Sai. She knew deep down he wasn't trustworthy, yet she was still as genuine as possible with him. She believed he wasn't a typical Root ANBU. She was wrong. She had never been more wrong about a person and she was the only reason for this misjudgment on her part. Now that she thought about it, he did nothing to lead her to believe that he was a friend. She kept hearing the tinging sound of the two metals hitting each other before he could gauge her eyes out in the background. She wanted it to stop. It was like a trigger to induce chills all along her spine.

"Please, make it stop." She murmured, clearly destabilized by the sound.

"She said something!" A low voice said. "Bee-sama, I think she said something. I couldn't quite catch it, but I definitely heard something."

She slowly opened her eyes. Her head was turned sideways, her back was facing the people who were talking. She could sense two distinct chakras. One of them reminded her of Naruto's, but it wasn't his. The other chakra owner wasn't special as per say. He was still a shinobi nonetheless. She could tell.

"She's alive, oh yeah! You shouldn't be surprised, Omoi! Killer Bee personally saved her, after all!"

"That did not rhyme, Bee-sama..." Replied the one named Omoi in a dull voice.

"I wasn't trying to make it rhyme, ya fool."

Yuki blinked a few times and sat up. She could sense Omoi moving back a little. He was definitely the careful type. He wasn't wrong to do so though. They didn't know whether she was a foe or a friend, after all. She turned around and looked at them. She tried to smile in order to demonstrate that she meant no harm. However, she barely managed to look kind. It was as if she forgot how to smile. It felt like she had lost someone again. It felt like how it was when the Third had just passed away. She felt lonely. Perhaps, it was because, even though she was away from the village, she felt like Sai would come visit from time to time, mission or not, just like a friend. That, now, was impossible. If he ever showed up again, it was to get rid of her, or her eyes to be more precise. She had lost a friend, in a sense. He wasn't dead. He just wasn't a friend any longer. She felt so empty at that thought. She tried to smile once again and said, in a small voice, barely audible:

"Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcomed. We just happened to have forgotten something in town and headed back. On our way, we saw that he was about to harm you. We weren't too sure whether to intervene or not, but we felt like we had to do something. It was nothing really. He didn't really fight back. He just left the moment we blocked him from striking. I've talked too much. I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Omoi, from Kumogakure."

"I'm Yuki."

"I'm Killer Bee. Here to make people listen to my rhapsody!"

"It's nice to meet you both." She said, still trying to smile in order to seem pleasant.

"Don't force yourself into smiling." Bee, then, said more seriously. "It just pains your heart more when trying. We saw you crying. We saw him hesitating."

"Was he?" Yuki asked, slightly surprised.

"You guys are like star-crossed lovers, right?" Omoi then asked.

"No."

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to... I mean... I shouldn't have assumed things. I just... I'm really sorry."

"Don't be." Yuki told Omoi who seemed to be very worried about the outcome of what he just said. "I suppose it could have been perceived that way from an outsider's point of view."

Things went silent. Omoi awkwardly tried to step away for a second before being pulled back by Killer Bee. Yuki grabbed the bowl of water they had left by her side while she was sleeping. She took a sip of it. She was trying to push down, by drinking, this knot that she had in her throat. Every time she felt by herself or wronged, that knot appeared, making it hard for her to speak or to emote.

"You are a shinobi, right?" Omoi then asked, trying to change subject.

Yuki wasn't too sure how to answer to that. If she told the truth, she was afraid that she would have to fight the both of them for trespassing into the Land of Lightning. If she didn't, she was afraid that the consequences, once they found out the truth, would be much graver than if she had told them right from the beginning. Besides, she knew, better than anyone, that lies were not a good foundation to trustworthiness.

"I am."

"Where's your headband?" He continued asking, now seemingly suspicious about her presence in the Land of Lightning.

"I don't have one. I was trained by my grandfather, then he passed away and so I started wandering the different lands, trying to find a home."

"You can't fool Killer Bee! You might be tiny, but I can sense that you are quite mighty!"

"My grandfather trained me well." Yuki replied. It wasn't an complete lie. Things did turn out that way in a sense. She couldn't return home to Konoha, she might as well try to find a new home in the meantime.

"Would it be too much to ask you to spar against me, right now?" Omoi then asked as he grabbed his sword. "Bee-sama always told me that you never really know someone until you fight them."

"Fist to fist clears out the mist." Bee said, confirming what Omoi had just said.

"It would be my honor." Yuki replied. "I always heard about the talent that resided in Kumogakure. I can't wait to see it myself."

Normally, Yuki would have been really excited to fight someone from whom she could learn a thing or two. However, those were only words that day. She felt nothing at the fact that she was about to be fighting someone from Kumogakure. Her mind was still empty and her heart was still aching. Yuki grabbed her katana and followed Omoi's lead out of the cave where they were staying. They walked a bit and arrived near a waterfall surrounded by a flat terrain on which they could easily have their fight. He pulled his sword out of its sheath and pointed it at Yuki. She didn't flinch. She simply looked at him, waiting for Bee's signal to start the fight. She was still unsure whether she should end the fight quickly or drag it out in order to be able to observe Omoi's moves. Bee raised his arm to announce the start of the fight. Omoi charged ahead, but remained fairly careful in his moves. They were offensive, but they allowed him to stay on the defensive at the same time. Yuki dodged his attacks without much difficulty. If she wasn't wrong, he was a Genin, a talented one, but still just a Genin. It would make sense with his age.

As he noticed that he was getting nowhere with his kenjutsu against Yuki, he decided to resort to some ninjutsu as well. He coated his sword with some lightning allowing for its reach to be extended to which, Yuki responded by pulling out her katana and finally started fighting back.

"You are quite good with a katana." Omoi praised her.

"Like I said, my grandfather trained me well."

"Your blade is dull, though." He said as he stroke her katana and broke it in half. As his sword continued in its pathway, it almost struck Yuki. However, she, instinctively, flashed herself away, appearing right behind Omoi, holding a kunai right by his neck.

Surprised, Omoi dropped his sword. He rose his arms up in the air to surrender. Bee looked astonished as well. Yuki's face was emotionless. As she held the kunai there, she looked down on the floor at her broken katana. That blade was never dull. She always took very good care of her weapons. They were always spotless. If they were stained with blood, she would wash them until they shone again. She usually never let anyone touch her weapons for that reason. The only one who did was Sai when he took her away from Sunagakure. He had planned it since then. At that thought, she put her kunai back into her bag, still looking down at the ground. She heard Omoi and Bee's voices again. They seemed so far away despite being right there. She grabbed the two pieces of her katana in her hand. She did not care that the blade was resting against her skin. She actually tightened her grip. She wanted to remember this pain. At least, it made her feel something. She turned towards the waterfall and threw her katana into the water. Her hand was dripping of blood. She sensed Omoi grabbing her hand and bandaging it, but it was already feeling numb. She let it be as she watched her broken blade slowly sink into the water, staining its surrounding in the red of her blood.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 40**

* * *

Yay to new characters being introduced to the story!

Let me know how you feel so far about the story in the review!

xox

Krystal


	42. Chapter 41: Learning to smile again

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 41: Learning to smile again**

* * *

 **D** espite being unsure whether he could trust her or not, Omoi spent a lot of time with Yuki. She wasn't being especially talkative, but he enjoyed her input whenever she did. Yuki didn't enter Kumogakure. She remained in its outskirts as Omoi and Bee both believed that they needed to know more about her before letting her enter their village. Besides, they knew that their leader, the Fourth Raikage, would not have allowed it unless they vouched for her, something they couldn't do just yet. Omoi would often leave the village's border to come spend time with Yuki by the waterfall where they had their first fight. Bee wasn't wrong, he did learn a few things about her during that fight. He could feel that she was broken inside. There was a spark that should be there, in a girl her age, but it was absent. He didn't her whole life story. He sensed that she had lost a lot despite her young age. However, he didn't know the extent of the losses she had seen or had to deal with. He thought it was like any other orphans during this time of impending war. Omoi just wanted to be there for her. He didn't exactly know why, but seeing her made him want to get closer.

Yuki, despite not expressing, was very grateful that Omoi kept her company. She was reluctant to trust another person, but she appreciated the fact that he took the time, almost everyday, to come see her. He would talk about his mission, about his friends in the village, about how Killer Bee kept on putting on shows in the village and ended getting grounded by his own brother who the Raikage. She didn't show it in her face, but it helped her get through the days. She still couldn't forget the fact that someone she trusted tried to put an end to her life. The possibility of something like that happening again was there. She found it hard, therefore, to open up. Not just that, she forgot how to feel happiness and to exude it. Her chuckles were nothing but an act. They had no warmth. Slowly, she started forgetting all the good memories from Konohagakure. She only remembered the ones that had left her. It kept being reminded to her. She had forgotten how to take. She only knew how to let go now.

Whenever Omoi felt like Yuki was being too quite or distant, he asked her to fight him. She never denied it. For her, it was a way to not have to express anything. To him, it was a way to get her to let her emotions loose. Not just that, he also felt like he learned something new every time they sparred.

"It's so much better practicing my sword skills against you. It's so unpredictable every single time. Whenever I practice with Karui, it's like I know what her next move will be." Omoi said as he got his sword taken away from him by Yuki.

"That's because you two are friends and teammates. You already know each other so well." She replied as she threw the sword directly back into his sheath.

"Did you ever have that?"

"Is that a trick question? I was never really a shinobi." Yuki answered calmly.

"Sorry. I forgot. I babble too much, don't I? Sometimes I really worry that I make you uncomfortable. I never know if I'm bringing up bad memories or..." Omoi said as he paused to take a sip of water. "Not. I always hope that it's not triggering any bad memories."

"You worry too much." Yuki told him as she sat down with her feet dangling off the side of the mountain.

He took a seat next to her. They both gazed into the sunset.

"I love watching the sunset here. There's never anything to obstruct it." He told her. "I didn't know about this place until Bee-sama showed it to me. He told me it would help me get rid of all my worries. He's like you, always telling me I worry too much."

"I like sunsets too." Yuki said. "It reminds me of home, because it's the same sun that sets no matter where you are."

She stopped herself. She didn't know why she felt the need to share that. Omoi looked at her and smiled. It was the first time she talked about something personal. He felt like he had just gotten a little bit closer to her.

"I wonder if I can see your home, one day, Yuki." Omoi said with an even wider smile.

Yuki was wondering the same thing, about her own home. Would she one day return to Konohagakure? It represented so much pain to her. Even if she was able to make it back, she was doubting whether she would be happy there. She wasn't happy where she was right now, but at the very least, she was away from the most painful place she's ever known.

"You don't have to show me your home! That's not what I meant. Sorry, that was so insensitive of me." Omoi quickly said as he could hear her silence. "I mean, this could be your new home too. Haha, then I would've seen it."

Yuki turned her head and looked at him. He was so cheerful. She missed having that feeling.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. Bee-sama mentionned your name to our Raikage. He wasn't too happy that we allowed a stranger stay so close to the village, but he still wanted to meet you. He said he was intrigued by an unknown kunoichi who could defeat the top genin in the village." Omoi said, grinning.

"Are you praising yourself right now?" Yuki asked. She smiled. It felt natural for the first time in a long time.

"I knew you would look the prettiest when you would smile." Omoi said.

He stopped himself and turned away. He felt his cheeks flushing red. He abruptly stood up and said nervously:

"I'll see you tomorrow."

He quickly climbed down the mountain and disappeared. Yuki watched him go as her smile disappeared as well. _Raikage, eh?_ She always wondered what the Raikage was like. She heard many things about him, one being that he was extremely stern. Rules were above all for the Fourth Raikage. He was a man of his words with that being said. If he said something, he would make it happen. There was one thing she was certain. It was that he wasn't going to make it easy for her. Regardless of the trust he might have in Omoi and Bee, there was no way he trusted her. He probably wanted to test her and to figure out where she was from. She reminded herself one last time, before going to bed, never to show any skills she had learn from her time as an ANBU, as each village had its distinct techniques of assassination.

* * *

 **T** he next few days, it became much easier for her to smile while talking to Omoi. Unknowingly, he became her closest friend. It was perhaps due to the fact that she met him during her weakest time and he helped her throughout it by accompanying her. She even managed to chuckle at times. Omoi often thought a lot. Sometimes it was to the extent of over thinking. However, she found it very endearing when he would go into his monologue which was his thoughts spilled out into words. He found it funny himself how he would ramble on and on. Omoi was truly a gift from God to Yuki in her loneliest days.

It was a particularly hot day that afternoon. They were both dipping their toes in the waterfall pond to cool down a bit. Omoi was telling her how he wished she could see Kumogakure and its liveliness. Yuki also wished to see it, but the Fourth Raikage had the reputation of being extremely strict with outsiders, especially ninjas. He believed that no one could be trusted, regardless of alliances or not. Although they weren't war with each other, the mistrust between Konohagakure and Kumogakure remained due to many incidences.

"Bee-sama trained me since I was out of the Academy. He can be an air head at times, but he's the best teacher I could have had. He understands people really well. He connects with people by bumping fist with them. He says it allows him to read a person. He's always out to meet new people."

"He does sound like a great teacher."

"What about your grandfather?"

"He was very gentle, but also very decisive. He was really wise, yet preferred to keep things simple. To me, he was the perfect balance to everything."

"It sounds like he was a great man. I wish I could have met him." Omoi said.

Yuki also wished she could have seen him one last time. She never gave him a proper send off. He never told her goodbye. His death was just too sudden. It pained her to think about it. It probably showed on her face as Omoi regretted bringing it up. He decided to splash her with some water. It was refreshing and it did allow that sad train of thoughts to disappear. She splashed him back. It became a water fight between the two of them to which the music was laughter. As they played around in the pond, Yuki suddenly sensed a large amount of chakra coming really quickly in their direction. She turned around only to see this silhouette covering the sun partly flying straight towards the two of them. Yuki grabbed onto Omoi's arm and flashed themselves out of the pond and to the top of the waterfall. As they reappeared, they only saw the pond emptying of its water as someone had landed in high velocity into it.

"Raikage-sama..." Omoi said, his voice shaking.

He was a tall, dark man with massive shoulders. He had the airs of a leader. He did seem stern. His face showed his discontentment. Yuki felt drained of her chakra all of the sudden. It was the first time she teleported herself with someone else. She avoided it all this time as she knew it would require a lot chakra. However, it felt like an emergency and so she decided to risk it anyways. One of her rules for using this jutsu was that her partner, or whoever she flashed away with her, had to have the ability to fight for her to recover of her chakra loss. There was no doubt she still had to work on this technique.

"The Yellow Flash?" The Raikage said as he looked up. "No, it couldn't be."

He then saw her hair flying in the wind. It was as white as the clouds in the sky and just as straight and long as a waterfall.

"Omoi!" He yelled out. "Come down here and explain yourself!"

Omoi obeyed right away as he landed right in front of the Raikage.

"Raikage-sama... We found her attacked and lost on our way back to the village. We felt bad, so we allowed her to stay here. She has nowhere to go..."

"You and Bee sneaked in a stranger within the proximity of the village?! A shinobi at that too?!"

"She has no affiliation to any village."

"Are you both blind? She's obviously from Konoha! She uses the Flying Thunder God Technique! Only a shinobi from Konohagakure would be taught that technique."

Omoi looked at Yuki who gracefully came down from the top of the waterfall. She landed on the pond. She bowed politely to the Fourth Raikage. She looked at him in the eyes and decided it was best to tell the truth:

"Raikage-sama, you are right."

"I knew something was sketchy!" said another voice.

It was a female with the most golden eyes Yuki had ever seen and red hair. She looked fierce.

"Karui!" Omoi said pointing at her. "You told on me?!"

"You kept on disappearing. I had to report it!" Karui replied, pouting.

"You." The Raikage said, pointing at Yuki. "State your name and reason to be here."

"I'm Yuki. I'm only here because I have no place to call home."

"I've heard of you. I doubt Konoha would let such a talented kunoichi leave the village. Not to mention that you are the Third's precious grandchild." He told her.

"I'm honored that you've heard of me. I'm guessing there are spies from Kumogakure a little bit everywhere."

"Are you insinuating that we are spying on Konohagakure?" He asked angrily.

"I'm assuming a fact because no one knows of my existence other than the people in the village."

"Ha, I guess we both blew our covers." The Raikage said with a smirk on his face. "You still haven't answered one of my questions honestly though."

"I did. You simply didn't accept my answer. I should take my leave then. I'm not here to create any trouble."

"You already did, kiddo."

"I've never been good with diplomacy. If there's any way for me to clear out the misunderstanding, I'll gladly take part in it."

"I think you know how."

"You want secrets from Konohagakure?"

"That would be fair since you've trespassed our territory."

"I've found out nothing, though."

"Enough for me to justify your death."

"Perhaps to your own village, but to Konohagakure... There's been quite a few unjust deaths from Konohagakure within your village. Perhaps, Hyuga would ring a bell."

"A kid is trying to threaten me right now?"

"I'm just reminding you of the debt Kumogakure owes Konohagakure. We wouldn't want it increase, now."

"Not well versed in diplomacy, you said? For your age, you are far too bright. It's good to be a kid sometimes, especially when you still can." The Fourth Raikage said with a smile.

It reminded her of Itachi. Those exact words were spoken to her by Itachi when she was younger. He also reminded her that she had to live as a child, not as a grown-up. Her eyes started filling up with tears. She managed to hold them back. Although the Raikage scared her a little, he also had this very fatherly aura about him. He was stern, but there was some softness about him. They remained silent for a bit. Then he asked her, once again:

"Only here to find a home, eh?"

"Yes."

"Let me repay that debt to Konohagakure then, or to the Third Hokage at least."

"Thank you." Yuki replied with a smile as her eyes glistened with tears once again.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 41**

* * *

Thank you for reading!

I hope you are enjoying everything so far!

Let me know what you think in the reviews!

xox

Krystal


	43. Chapter 42: Two Years

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 42: Two years**

* * *

 **Y** uki adapted herself quite well to Kumogakure. She did not even see the time pass. It had been two years people were welcoming. Even Karui, who first revealed her existence to the Raikage, became a good friend of hers. There, she allowed herself to be a child. Despite being unsure about her at first, the Fourth Raikage grew fond of her and began seeing her as one of his own villagers. He often praised her intelligence and wisdom. However, he was always the one to remind her to remain a child for as long as she could, especially in the turbulent time they lived in. He would some time even train her personally. He allowed her to learn some of the lightning techniques that were passed down in Kumogakure. She was really grateful for it. One of those techniques was the Storm Release which was only possible if the user had both water and lightning chakra affinity. Because he was always very busy as the Raikage, he often delegated her training duty to his right hand man: Darui.

Darui was a laid-back shinobi. It seemed at times as though he had no motivation, but it was only his appearances that lead to that belief. He was actually very hard working, despite his laid-back nature. He just didn't like doing useless things. When teaching Yuki, he was very diligent. He often expressed his amazement at the speed at which Yuki was progressing. Another thing they worked on was increasing her chakra pool. Yuki often expressed that she felt like she got tired too often. He made sure that she could increase her chakra and use it in the most efficient way possible.

Two years passed just like that. The friendship between her and Omoi grew even stronger. There was mutual respect between her and Darui. There was a blossoming sisterhood between her and Karui. There was a fatherly love that somehow emerged between her and the Raikage. It happened fast and unknowingly. She slowly forgot about the pain from Konohagakure, but started missing the good times she had there. She missed the green forests of Konoha. She missed the people she had met there and forged a bond with. She slowly started wondering about them. However, she didn't want to go back there just yet. She also started thinking about Gaara, Temari and Kankuro. She wondered how Gaara was doing as the Kazekage. She heard news here and there from talks in the Raikage's office, but there was never much detail. She didn't miss the weird weather in Sunagakure, but she missed looking at the moon there with Gaara. Every full moon, she made it a point to watch the moon and to pray to it for his well-being. She believed nobody deserved love more than him.

In the last two years, Yuki saw her hair grow longer and longer. It was down to her knees. She liked maintaining her hair that long. It felt like a silky blanket against her back. Omoi often complimented her on her hair. He always told her it was one of the most beautiful sight to him when her hair danced freely in the wind. He would then blush, look away and scratch his neck in embarrassment. Karui always made fun of him. Bee would remind him all the time of his cheesy comments. Yuki felt awkward about it, but slowly grew immune to the cheesiness.

Two years ago, Yuki could have never imagined herself settling down somewhere other than Konohagakure. Somehow it happened. She couldn't be happier. This home was filled with such delights. It really felt warm. Yuki's heart could beat and flutter again. She smiled everyday. Occasionally, she would be haunted by the past. It was okay. She didn't mind it. It reminded her of how good her life was now.

* * *

"Have you heard about the Akatsuki?" The Raikage asked Yuki one day as she was helping him with some of the paper work.

Yuki nodded. Itachi, the last time that she saw him, had mentioned the name to her.

"I just received a report from Konohagakure telling everyone to be on the lookout for them. Mabui, you should show this to Darui and the village's patrol team."

"Yes, Raikage-sama." Mabui replied as she quickly took the papers and headed out to share in the information.

Yuki had forgotten all about the Akatsuki. She took a look at the list of people who were known to be part of the Akatsuki. They were all S-rank criminals that have deserted their village after committing a serious offense. She couldn't take her eyes off Itachi's name. He was labelled like the rest of them.

"They are all extremely strong shinobis. Their talent have gone to waste though." The Fourth Raikage commented. "Nothing you can't face, though."

He looked at her with a fatherly smile. He believed in her strength so much. She wasn't sure she had that much confidence in herself. It was a nice feeling though. It was nice to have positive reinforcement no matter its exactitude.

* * *

 **S** he went to bed that night feeling slightly uneasy. Something kept bothering her after she saw the report about the Akatsuki. If all of the sudden there were more sightings of them, it had to mean that they were taking more actions. Remembering what Hidan and Kakuzu were doing, she felt like her days in Kumogakure were going to be numbered. She felt a certain responsibility in helping with their hunt. As she twisted and turned in her bed for a long time, she decided to head out on the balcony to catch a glance at the moon. It was full, but clouds kept on passing by and covering its magnificence.

"How are you not in bed yet?" She heard a voice ask her from downstairs.

She looked down. It was Omoi who had just returned from one of his missions. He jumped the many balconies and joined her.

"I just had a lot of thoughts."

"Tell me about it." Omoi said jokingly as he was known for being an over thinker.

Yuki smiled at that comment. He always knew how to make her feel at ease when she was distressed.

"How did your mission go?"

"Just had to catch a few bandits. Nothing too difficult."

"And yet they managed to injure your hand." Yuki said as she saw his hand twitching. "Let me have a look at it."

"It's nothing..."

She grabbed his hand anyway. He let out a little screech out of pain.

"Nothing, eh? Want to tell me what happened?"

He scratched the back of his neck nervously again. She chuckled as she began to heal his hand.

"They blew up a mine in attempt to escape. There were some kids in the mine for some reason or another. I rushed in and got my hand crushed by rocks on the way. All the kids are safe and we caught the bandits. My hand crushing was worth it. I also knew you would be around to fix me up."

"Omoi, I might not always be around."

He became silent. Yuki continued as she remained fixated on his hand:

"You really have to be more careful when on missions no matter how easy it might seem. I showed Karui some basic medical ninjutsu..."

"Stop. What do you mean you might not always be around? Did someone tell you to leave? Did something happen while I was gone? Are you sick? Are you going to die soon?"

"No, no, no and no. I... I just think I've bothered you all long enough. I should head home."

"This is your home now! I've told you many times. Even the Raikage sees you as his family."

"I know. You've all been so good to me. I just... I..."

He pulled his hand away, grabbed her face and made her look at him. Her eyes were filled with tears as she was telling him these things. She didn't want to leave. She just felt like she had to.

"I'm sorry..."

"Two years meant nothing to you?" He asked her, his eyes also filling up with tears. "I... I knew you were going to leave someday, but I thought that... I thought that maybe these last two years would convince you to stay here forever."

"Nothing lasts forever, Omoi."

As she said those words, she had made up her mind. She was ready to leave the village. She was ready to say goodbye. She was happy she got to see him before leaving. She felt the closest to him. He really changed her views on things. He helped her when she was most vulnerable.

"I'm not asking for forever." He then said. "Forever don't exist for shinobis like us who risk our lives everyday. I'm asking for longer."

"Two years have been long enough." Yuki replied.

She stood up and wind picked up and blew through her hair. The wind made the tears on her eyes roll down her cheeks.

"You'll let everybody know for me?"

"You can't even stay for another day."

"It will just get harder to leave. Omoi..."

He didn't let her finish. He stood up as well and kissed her gently on the lips as his tears were streaming down from his eyes. She closed her eyes and gently pushed him away.

"I'm sorry..." He started.

"No, I'm the one who is sorry." Yuki interrupted him.

"I..."

"Thank you for everything." She interrupted him once again, stopping him from saying anymore as she knew it might change her mind.

She knew too well how he felt. She wasn't sure of her own feelings. She didn't know if what he had to say would change her mind. She didn't want it to. She wanted to leave it to the unknown. She was fine of not knowing if they could have been more than friends. Two years of keeping it in the unknown couldn't be wasted. As she sensed his hand going for her shoulder to hold her back one more time, she vanished in between his fingers, leaving only a cold wind to caress his hand.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 42**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter!

xox

Krystal


	44. Chapter 43: Reunited

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 43: Reunited**

* * *

 **Y** uki was making her way back towards Konoha at great speed. She knew she left her markings in multiple places as she traveled towards Kumogakure previously. As she would be close enough to flash herself to wherever she had marked, she managed to save herself quite a bit of time. She was worried she would encounter the Root ANBU on the way back, but, luckily and surprisingly, no ambushes from their part. Within only a few days, she managed to get back to Konoha. She flashed herself right in front of the Hokage's office door. Normally, she would have been exhausted from constantly using the teleportation jutsu. However, the training in Kumogakure paid off. She was barely feeling the effect of using that much chakra.

She gently knocked on the door before being greeted by a surprised Shizune who immediately embraced her into her arms.

"Where have you been? Tsunade-sama and I were so worried!" Shizune told her as she brought her into the office.

"Shizune-senpai, you are strangling me." Yuki said.

She looked at Tsunade who also stood up to come and welcome her back home. As they exchanged looks, Tsunade grasped part of the situation. She knew a lot had to be explained and said before she could fully understand Yuki's disappearance for the last 2 years or so. Yuki could tell that Tsunade was anxious. She wasn't too sure why it was the case. It had to do with the recent news about the Akatsukis for sure.

"I came back upon hearing about the Akatsukis' movement." Yuki told her.

"How have you been?" Tsunade said abruptly. "We haven't seen each other in such a long time and the first thing you want to talk about is..."

"I'm fine. I can feel an urgency in the room. I had a feeling something was wrong when I was in Kumogakure so I headed back..."

"You were where?!" Shizune asked as she closed the door, shocked that Yuki had spent time in Kumogakure.

"It's a really long story." Yuki told her. "I'll explain later."

"Tell us everything now." Tsunade demanded. "Other things can wait for now. I need to know what happened."

Yuki began from when Sai attacked her before she met with Omoi and Bee. She couldn't say more than that because of the curse seal that he had place on her. All she could do was hint towards the idea that her eyes played a role in the assassination mission. She then told them all about Kumogakure and her life there. She didn't reveal any secrets she might have heard while she was in the village out of loyalty to the Fourth Raikage who trusted her so much.

"That explains the loss of communication." Tsunade said as Yuki concluded her story. "I'm glad you are safe and sound here. I'll talk to Danzo. I've been meaning to take you back and away from him. He's a snake, that man. I can never read his intentions. It really gets on my nerves."

"I'll gladly come back." Yuki told her. "I want nothing to do with the Root."

"I have plenty of reasons to take you back now. You should go rest up."

As she said those words, somebody knocked on the door before opening it. Yuki's back was facing the door, but she knew who they were right away. She would recognize their chakras anywhere.

"Gai-san!" Shizune said. "That was fast."

"You..." Gai said pointing at Yuki's back. "There's no doubt about it."

"Gai, stop being dramatic." Tsunade scolded him. "Yuki, you should go rest up."

Yuki turned around and smiled at Gai's team. They seemed to have had just returned from a mission. Yet, instead of washing up and finishing up a report, they were already in Tsunade's office. Neji glared at her. He had all the reasons to do so. Yuki tried to ignore it, but it did hurt her to see him express such anger towards her.

"Tsunade-sama, I'm assuming you are sending them off on another mission. They must be exhausted from their last mission. I think more manpower to their team wouldn't be a bad idea." Yuki said, trying to isolate business and personal feelings.

"Yuki..."

"Why don't you let her join us, Tsunade-sama." Gai said. "We haven't seen her in while. It will be good to catch up on the way."

Tsunade bit her lip and, after a long moment of silence, finally said:

"Fine. The Kazekage was kidnapped by the Akatsukis. Kakashi's team should already be in Sunagakure, assisting them. However, since we are dealing with all S-rank criminals, I believe Gai's team should be their backup."

Yuki's heart sunk. If she wasn't wrong, the night she left Kumogakure was the night Gaara was taken away by the Akatsukis. Her uneasiness that day wasn't unjustified. She knew something wasn't right in the air, despite being hundreds of miles away. As much as she was distraught by the news, she felt better at the thought that she got to partake in the mission to save Gaara. She owed him at least that much.

Gai accepted the mission and they took off immediately. Yuki waved a silent goodbye to Tsunade and Shizune. As she left the office, following the footsteps of Gai's team, Danzo passed right by her. He seemed slightly surprised to see her in the village. However, he did not hold her back or say anything. Yuki glared at him. Behind him, two of his own ANBUs, masked, were accompanying him. She could tell one of them was Sai. He turned his head to look at her. She ignored him and sped up to catch up with the rest of Gai's team.

* * *

 **A** s they rushed through the forest to head to Sunagakure, Yuki reminded Gai that once they reached the border of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind, she would be able to flash them all into Sunagakure. To which Gai's response was that it would drain her chakra as he very well knew of her limitations.

"You are not the only ones who have been training." Yuki replied with a smile. "It will probably exhaust me quite a bit, but nothing that can't be fixed with a little rest."

"That's what we are afraid of." Neji then said. "Knowing you, you would want to rush into action right away after meeting up with Kakashi's team."

"I know my limits well." She replied. "Besides, you also know me well enough to know that I won't allow myself to be a burden to the team."

"That's another thing that I'm afraid of. You haven't worked in a team for so long, you probably forgot the importance of a team." Neji then told her.

The rest of the team could feel the tension between the two of them as they took the lead of the group. Yuki glared at him. He then continued:

"I will never let a team member be sacrificed for the sake of anything. I won't exchange a life for another."

She frowned at that comment. It was unnecessary of him to say such things.

"I think you are mistaken. Whenever I put my life on the line, it is for a good reason. It's because I know there's a way for me to survive. I'm just not as pessimistic as some other people. I might not look like someone who would be hopeful, but I am."

It became silent again. Time created a huge distance between them. It was like the understanding that was previously there between them was now replaced by too many words that had remained unspoken for too long. Those words slowly scarred them unknowingly and those scars might not be able to heal with the little time they had now on their hand to explain things. They were also both stubborn enough to not want to say anything to each other until the other opened up about how they felt throughout this time.

As they wandered a little further into the Land of Rivers, Yuki indicated for them all to halt. Neji looked into the dense forest with his dojutsu and, indeed, there was a large mass of chakra coming towards them. Yuki closed her eyes to try and focus. She recognized that chakra. It was the Akatsuki who trespassed into Konohagakure back then alongside with Itachi.

"We are going to be delayed." She told Gai.

The fact that he was here had to mean that Itachi was also nearby. She tried to expand her chakra scanning to a larger territory. She detected not only Itachi's chakra, but also Kakashi's and the rest of his team. Seemingly, Naruto had returned to the village as well. He was part of the team. Surprisingly, she recognized Chiyo's chakra among them as well. They were about twenty kilometers away from them.

"Kakashi is also nearby." She then told Gai. "One o'clock, Neji."

He looked into it. She wasn't wrong. He nodded and described their current situation to the rest of the team. Itachi was heading over there. Meanwhile, the one who was named Kisame were heading in their direction at great speed. Just as they got to a clearing leading into the Land of Rivers, he arrived to meet them.

"This is as far as you will all go." He announced.

He looked at Yuki and Gai and grinned:

"It's nice to see familiar faces."

"We've met before?" Gai asked him.

Yuki wasn't sure if Gai was joking or not. Kisame seemed to have taken offence in that comment. He quickly charged towards them swinging his Samehada at them. As they all jumped out of the way, he then created a huge water dragon that pushed them all back except for Gai and Yuki. As they looked back, they noticed that he had created clones amidst all this and had trapped the remaining three in a water prison. Seemingly, there was no oxygen that could be leaked into those water prison. The three were still managing at holding their breath. Yuki thought of using her lightning jutsu, but she couldn't risk having the three of them being electrocuted in the process.

"I didn't want interferences in our fight." Kisame said. "I was hoping I could trap that kid as well."

"You seem to want to fight me only." Gai said. "Why don't you let them go? I can guarantee they won't interfere."

"It's not fun to fight without a prize to win though."

Gai was quick to jump into action. He knew that Yuki would have the brains to figure out how to help the three of them escape the water prison. He focused on Kisame instead, serving this as a distraction. She went ahead to fight the clone that was holding Neji captive. Using her water and wind nature to change the water clone into ice, she managed to create an opening where his arm was inserted in the water prison. With that, all she had to do was to break the ice and Neji was released.

"You should've gone for Tenten first!" He yelled at her as he was coughing from suffocation.

"Instead of yelling at me, go help her instead then." Yuki replied calmly as she headed towards Lee's water prison.

Neji glared at her and headed right away for Tenten. Simultaneously, they freed the remaining two members. Meanwhile, in the corner of eye, Yuki was keeping track of the fight between Gai and Kisame. It was speedy and the impacts between their blows were enough to create gushes of wind. It had been a while since she saw someone being able to keep up with Gai's taijutsu skills. As they were all freed and recovering from the lack of oxygen, Kisame took notice of it and sent water sharks towards them to which Yuki responded by creating a large fireball to turn the sharks into steam. As the steam cleared out, she could see through it that Gai had landed a fatal blow to Kisame who fell from high above into a crater that was formed previously during their fight. They all headed over with Neji supporting Tenten. The body that was in the crater was not of Kisame.

"I definitely have no idea who this is." Gai said.

"They managed to recreate the chakra of Kisame perfectly though. I couldn't tell that it was a transformation jutsu." Yuki said. "He is from the Sand Village. I've seen him before. He isn't someone who could do such things."

"He was merely a sacrifice for the Akatsukis' jutsu." Neji then said. "A worthless life to them."

"They were probably trying to delay us. Let me flash all of us to Kakashi's team."

"They also finished their battle." Neji said as he looked in their direction.

They all grabbed on to Yuki's shoulder as she teleported everyone right next to Kakashi who did not even jump at their appearances. Pakkun who had been guiding them to the Land of Rivers looked at Yuki and said:

"Haven't seen you in a while, kiddo."

"You haven't aged one bit, Pakkun." Yuki said with a smile as she took a deep breath.

Gai wasn't wrong earlier. Teleporting four people, on top of herself, was not easy. It drained her energy. Chiyo went to her side immediately and gave her a soldier pill.

"I didn't think I would ever see you again." She told Yuki as she ate the pill to replenish her energy. "This won't help much, but at least you won't pass out from using all this chakra."

Yuki nodded. She was never close to Chiyo, but she had the uttermost respect for her as a senior and as a talented medical ninja. Sakura smiled at her awkwardly as their last conversation wasn't quite the most pleasant one. However, Yuki wasn't one to hold grudges. Naruto grinned widely as it had been a while since they last saw each other. He was also happy to see Gai's team. He hadn't seen them since he left the village with Jiraiya almost three years ago.

"Now that everyone is here, let's brief each other about everything that's been going on. I assume you guys didn't make it to Sunagakure yet and just headed here straight." Kakashi said as he pulled down his forehead protector to cover his sharingan.

"Kakashi, you are as bright as ever!" Gai said in a cheerful tone. "Truly worthy of being my rival."

"We ran into Kisame who turned out to be a Sunagakure ninja who was transformed into him. He, however, used the same techniques as Kisame and had the same chakra as Kisame." Yuki told Kakashi.

"It was the same with us and a fake Itachi." Kakashi replied pointing to the corpse a few meters away from them. "They are probably just trying to delay us from finding Gaara."

"That's what I thought too, but I couldn't figure out why."

"He's after the tail beast in Gaara." Naruto told her as he placed his hand on his stomach, where the seal of the Kyuubi was.

Yuki clenched her fists and, while gritting her teeth, said:

"Let's get going then. We might already be too late."

Kakashi agreed:

"Enough with the greetings then."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 43**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter!

Keep the reviews coming, it really helps me understand what you love (or hate) about the story

xox

Krystal


	45. Chapter 44: Rescue Mission

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 44: Rescue Mission**

* * *

 **T** hey arrived in front of a large boulder with a seal on it blocking the entrance to what seemed like a large cave from the outside. Yuki got closer to the seal to inspect it. She had a lot knowledge on these artifacts as she had accessed to many different libraries through her travel and retained most of the information she read, including the ones of seals. As she explained the type of seal it was, Naruto grew impatient as they were taking more time to plan. Yuki could sense the Kyuubi's chakra boiling up. Yuki placed her hand on his shoulder to calm him down as Gai's team departed in different directions to where the other seals were. Only when all five seals were peeled off at the same time would they be able to break into the cave. Knowing that they were the fastest ninjas, they took on the job. Kakashi finally received the signal to peel off the seal. As he did, Sakura went ahead and punched the boulder blocking their way, crushing it into dust. Yuki smiled at that. Tsunade seemingly took her under her wing and nurtured another Tsunade in the process.

As the dust was clearing up, Kakashi received news that Gai's team wasn't going to be able to join up with them just yet. They didn't give them the details, but told him to not worry about them as they would deal with it and join up with them later. Yuki bit her lip, feeling anxious about it. However, there was obviously more danger lurking ahead of them. She couldn't be distracted by her worries.

"I sense two chakra bodies in there. I can't sense…" She said as she saw it through the dust.

 _Gaara_. He was lying there, on the ground, beneath an Akatsuki with blonde hair who didn't look much older than her. She couldn't sense Gaara's chakra for a reason. He was lifeless. Naruto was angered by the sight. Without much thought, he charged at the Akatsuki who then flew up in the air with what looked like a bird grabbing Gaara's dead body in the process.

"Deidara, don't overdo it." The second Akatsuki reminded him.

"Hm." Deidara replied as he took off.

Naruto lost control and the Kyuubi chakra started seeping out. He then went on a wild chase. The rest of them were about to follow, but they were stopped by that second Akatsuki. Chiyo gave sign for Kakashi and Yuki to go ahead after Naruto and the blonde Akatsuki, as Sakura would remain with her. That was when Yuki realized who that second Akatsuki was: Sasori. She gritted her teeth as she thought she should be stay back as well. However, Chiyo told her:

"This is a family problem. Sakura is enough for me to deal with him."

"Stay safe." Kakashi told them as he headed out with Yuki after Naruto.

"I'll keep her safe." Chiyo promised Kakashi.

* * *

 **N** aruto was only a little bit ahead of them. He was being extremely careless during his chase as he was angered and couldn't see the bigger picture. Kakashi kept calling out to him to tell him to slow down. However, he didn't listen and kept increasing his speed instead.

"Do you think you flash yourself closer to him to try to reason with him? Do you have enough chakra?" Kakashi asked Yuki as he could sense that she was still a little exhausted from her previous teleportation.

"Even if I don't have enough, we don't have much choice do we?" Yuki replied as she threw her kunai at great velocity towards Naruto and flashed herself right behind him catching the kunai before it stroke anything.

"Oi, Naruto. You need to calm yourself down. I don't want to say it myself, but Gaara is already dead. Rushing things doesn't mean you can bring him back in one piece."

"BUT…" Naruto said loudly.

"I understand how you feel. I hate that Deidara just as much as you right now, but I also know that getting angry won't get me anywhere. So please, let's regroup and figure out together how we can take Gaara's body back."

"He's not dead…" Naruto said as tears were filling up his eyes.

"He… Naruto, even if he was alive, we need to plan this properly to bring him back."

Naruto, unwillingly still, slowed down a bit to which Deidara responded by sending some bombs down towards them. As they passed by her, Yuki could tell that they were made of clay. She grabbed Naruto's arm and flashed them back to Kakashi avoiding getting hit by the clay bombs.

"He's really trying to provoke us." Kakashi said as they moved forward.

"The bombs are made of clay, I could defuse them with my lightning jutsu." Yuki told him.

"That bird he's flying must be made of clay too. Do you think you could reach it with your lightning jutsu?"

"I would need to get closer." Yuki replied as she pulled out the kunai with her seal on.

"Be careful. I know you are good, but he's also an S-rank criminal." Kakashi reminded her.

She nodded as she threw her kunai as strongly as possible to get as close as possible to Deidara. She flashed herself to that great height and readied herself to use her lightning jutsu. Before she could strike him, Deidara flew higher and dropped a much larger clay bomb toward her.

"Ha, that won't work on me!" He yelled as he released the bomb to explode.

The blast was quite large, causing the earth to shake a bit. Yuki managed to barely get away by pulling herself away with a rope towards a tree that had grown out of the rocks. She didn't have enough time to flash herself back to Kakashi and Naruto. In the process, she was slightly burnt by the explosion on her right shoulder. Kakashi and Naruto caught up to her during that time.

"Are you alright, Yuki?" Kakashi asked.

"I'll survive." Yuki replied as she tended to her wound while still chasing Deidara alongside with the two of them.

"I have something that could bring him down, but I need time and I also need to get closer." Kakashi said as his sharingan eye changed.

"Mangekyo?" Yuki asked.

"Only recently. I can send him to another dimension, but my aim for this is still a little off, especially at this distance." Kakashi explained as he sped up.

"Kamui."

"Exactly."

"I don't understand what you are both saying, but Kakashi-sensei, I'm begging you to hurry up."

"Naruto, I don't have as much chakra as you do. It, unfortunately, takes me time to do this on top on maintaining the speed to catch up to him." Kakashi told him, exasperated.

They went on like this a for a bit. Yuki was also recovering her chakra as they were chasing Deidara. At times, she would close her eyes and focus on what was going on in the cave with Chiyo and Sakura, she could still sense both their chakra. It reassured her.

"Yuki. Don't lose focus on what's ahead of us. Have faith in them instead." Kakashi said as she saw her closing her eyes from time to time. "Sakura isn't a child anymore, nor is Naruto or the rest of Gai's team. They might not have the experience you have, but they can hold their own now. They've been able to do so for a while now."

"Kakashi-sensei! Is it ready yet?" Naruto asked impatiently as he had taken the lead.

"Just about." Kakashi replied as he opened his eye.

The sky then warped around Deidara. He was getting sucked into this vacuum in the sky. Confused, but mostly scared, Deidara tried his best to move away from the eye of the warp. He struggled. Eventually, the warping hole stopped only able to detach Deidara's arm from the rest of his body. Kakashi was trying to aim for his head, but it failed. Nonetheless, it did slow him down and brought him closer to the ground. It was within Yuki's reach to destroy his clay bird with a lightning laser beam. In the process, Gaara's body dropped from the sky and Naruto went ahead and caught it, bringing Gaara to a gentle landing on the ground.

"Gaara! Wake up!" He kept yelling.

Deidara was only a few meters away, but could barely move because of the hard landing on the ground and his missing arm. He laughed at Naruto.

"You truly are a fool. He's dead! He ain't waking up!" Deidara told him, provoking an angry Naruto even further.

As Yuki and Kakashi both arrived on scene, they were confronted to Naruto, in his one-tail state, ripping apart what looked to be a clay clone from Deidara. Angered by the fact that he was unable to exact his revenge, the Kyuubi's chakra seeped through revealing a second tail on the chakra cloak.

"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled out. "You need to learn how to control yourself! Getting angry won't solve anything."

Naruto ignored his words as a third tail emerged. Kakashi rushed over with a seal tag that Jiraiya had given him, instructing him to place it on Naruto before the fourth tail appeared. He was a second too late. That fourth tail emerged and Naruto started going into a rampage. He could no longer recognize who was a foe and who was a friend. Kakashi had to take a few steps back to avoid getting injured by Naruto. Yuki brought Gaara's body to a safe location before joining with Kakashi.

"Jiraiya was heavily injured after his fourth tail emerged. I should have pulled this out sooner." Kakashi told Yuki.

"I saw Jiraiya right after the incident. We still have time, but not much though. I don't know if the seal works on a fifth tail state."

"We need to hold him down so that I can get to him."

"Leave that to me." Yuki told him as she thought to create an ice cage to imprison Naruto for a while.

She jumped right above Naruto and used her ice jutsu to slam him down within the ice cage. She landed on it and infused her chakra into the cage to allow for the bars to become nearly unbreakable. Kakashi quickly came in and placed the seal on Naruto's head. Before the seal could completely suppress the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto managed to shatter the cage making Yuki fly off of it. Using that much chakra within such a short period of time exhausted her and she started losing consciousness in her flight. Before she could hit anything hard, she was caught by no other than Neji who had arrived on scene right at that moment with the rest of Gai's team. She let out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Naruto was returning to his normal self minus the few injuries that were left after the cloak was removed from his body.

"Neji, do you mind bringing me over to Naruto?" Yuki asked him.

He sighed, but did as he was told. Naruto barely woke up when he heard snickers coming from behind a tree. Deidara was still there, finding the whole situation amusing. As he made his appearance, Naruto tried to attack him once again. Yuki put her hand on his shoulder and made him stay.

"Hm. Nine-tailed kid, why don't you give me another show like that. When you enter that mode, it seems like you can understand my art. Hm." Deidara said with a smirk on his face.

As he said those words, Sakura and Chiyo made their appearance at the scene as well. Deidara looked shocked. If they had made it back, it had to mean that his partner was defeated. He cursed under his breath before biting into some clay.

"You are all going in a BOOM!" He yelled.

"We need to all get away." Neji told everyone. "He's about to blow up."

"I'll show you what art is!" Deidara continued to threaten them.

"We can just kill him now!" Naruto said angrily.

"No, if we touch him now, he'll go off like a bomb." Neji explained.

"You are all too late! Art is an explosion!" Deidara yelled as he swelled up to the point where he could destroy a whole nation with him.

As the explosion was about to go off, it somehow vanished in mid air. Yuki looked back and saw Kakashi collapse onto his knee behind her. _Kamui_. He did it just in time. It drained him though. Two was definitely his limit for the time being. He pulled his forehead protector back onto his eye before hitting the ground and sighing.

"You saved us all, Kakashi." Gai told him as he lent him some support to sit back up.

Everybody let out a sigh of relief. Lee then brought Gaara's body to all of them, his eyes filled with tears. They went back a long way. They were enemies. They were friends. They were rivals. Gaara was someone who made Lee challenge himself even further. Naruto stumbled and made his way next to Lee and Gaara's immobile body. He grabbed Gaara's hand. It was so cold.

"Sakura-chan... He's not dead, right?" He asked her as he was crying. "He can't be. He finally... He finally became Kazekage and was acknowledged by people. He can't die."

Sakura walked over and looked down at Gaara's corpse. She shook her head as tears streamed down her face. Yuki looked away. She bit her lip as she tried to hold her tears back. She wondered if she had decided differently back then, if she decided to stay in Sunagakure... Would Gaara still be alive? As she closed her eyes, the tears started pouring. She could make a difference. She clenched her fists as she prepared herself to transfer her life to Gaara. Neji noticed. He held her back for a second. She shook him off.

"Naruto..." Yuki started.

"Let me have a look at him." Chiyo interrupted her as she knew what Yuki wanted to do.

Chiyo kneeled down by Gaara. She started to transfer her life energy into him.

"I've made many mistakes in my life. This is the least that I can do. I am responsible for his death in a sense after all."

"How..." Naruto started as he realized what she was doing when looking at everybody's facial expression.

Chiyo, however, was severely poisoned after her fight against Sasori. She nearly collapsed as she was transferring her life energy into Gaara. Naruto reached out his hand to her.

"You..." She started.

"Use my chakra." Naruto told her.

"Just place your hands on top of mine." Chiyo instructed him. "Naruto... I'm glad Gaara met someone like you. Yuki... don't take your life so lightly. Cherish it. When you get to my age, death will be at your doorstep, only then should you sacrifice your own life."

Yuki's lips trembled as she found it hard to give Chiyo a reply. She simply nodded as her heart was wrenching. Her whole body felt weak as she felt so helpless in that situation. Neji walked over and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She turned her head towards him as she leaned in to find comfort. She could no longer watch the scene. She could only hear Chiyo's chukle, filled with life still, and murmuring audibly:

"The future is going to be very different from what I have known."

Yuki then sensed Chiyo's chakra dissipating slowly as Gaara's chakra slowly grew until all was his. She finally looked at them. Sakura was on the ground, crying and hugging the now deceased Chiyo whose smile was still drawn on her face. As peaceful as Chiyo looked in her death, for a short moment, the whole forest was at peace as well as everyone took a minute of silence in honor of her sacrifice for the future.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 44**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Let me know what you thought of it in the review section.

xox

Krystal


	46. Chapter 45: Feeling free

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 45: Feeling free**

* * *

 **H** e was entered the village with roaring cheers as they were all delighted to see that he was well. He, however, asked for everyone to remain silent as he allowed for Chiyo's corpse to enter the village first before him. She was brought back into the village by her brother and Sakura with whom she had formed an unbreakable bond. Yuki and the rest of them followed them. Gaara was walking right by her side, concerned about how she was feeling, but dared not to say a word.

Chiyo was given a grand funeral as Gaara wanted everyone to know of her exploits. He wanted everyone to know of her sacrifices for the village. He also wanted to thank her for his own life. As everyone bid their farewell, Gaara and his siblings, as well as the rest of the Konohagakure shinobis, stayed back at Chiyo's tombstone. Sakura was still unwilling to leave. She stood there still as her eyes were unable to part with the engraved letters spelling out Chiyo's name. Naruto stood by her side as it was his only way to comfort her. Kakashi was leaning onto Gai as he was still recovering from his usage of the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Gaara suddenly tapped lightly on Yuki's shoulder who was standing apart from everybody else. She turned around and looked at him. He then grabbed her wrist and dragged her further away from everybody else and away from any looks. She followed him. There were many things that were left unsaid between them. They had to be said. As she followed him behind a tree, she saw in the corner of her eye that Neji was looking at them. As he noticed that she saw him, he quickly looked away as he lowered his chin towards his chest, his gaze now directed towards his feet. There were things that were also misunderstood between them.

When they were finally away from everybody's eyes, Gaara let go of her wrist. He gazed into her eyes. She looked away as she wasn't used to eye contact. Her eyes his many secrets and direct stares made her feel like they were able to read into her soul.

"If you need to cry, you should cry. Don't hold it back in." Gaara told her. "If you are scared, just say so. Don't hide it. If you don't want to talk about anything, don't. I'll just be here for you so you don't feel alone."

"I..."

"You told me those words once." Gaara said. "I followed your advice and allowed myself to be more vulnerable. It helped me get to where I am today."

"Gaara, I'm really glad you became the person you are today." Yuki told him. "I... I wished I was there to witness all the changes you had to go through the last few years."

"I know you had your reasons for leaving. I've never blamed you. I just... I was just hoping you would think of Sunagakure as home. I just kept waiting for you to come home, but I didn't realize that this was never home for you."

"It was home... at least for a little bit."

"I'm glad that it was at one point."

Yuki looked at her feet and started kicking the sand around as she did not know how to thank Gaara for his understanding and kindness. He always told her he didn't know how to love, but, to her, this was now someone who knew how to love more than she did herself. Suddenly, she felt his embrace. She froze. She didn't move any longer.

"I missed you." He whispered. "I can't ask you to stay, I know that. Just know that I'll always be here waiting for you."

He then let go. He turned around and walked back towards the rest of the people who were there. Yuki looked at his back as he walked away, head held high and shoulders lighter from unloading all he wanted to say to her for the past three years. He never seemed more loving to Yuki than at that very moment. Her heart was pounding, but, at the same time, she felt relieved that she didn't have to say much to Gaara. He somehow understood how she felt better than she did herself. He felt different to her in a good way. He had matured a lot. He wasn't that kid that felt like he was shunned from the world and did not belong. From a distance, she saw him shaking hands with Naruto who was seemingly awkward at first. He truly wasn't a kid anymore. He was a grown adult who knew how to handle himself and others. As they bid their farewell, Yuki made her way over to the group. She looked at Gaara who smiled at her. She waved a silent goodbye as she followed everybody to where home truly was: Konohagakure.

* * *

 **O** n their way back, Gai decided that Kakashi, in his current state, was too slow. He swung Kakashi around and piggybacked him swiftly back to Konohagakure while Lee was trying to race with him. The rest of them tried to match their speed, but in vain. Nobody had the energy those two had.

"Yuki, if you had enough chakra to flash yourself back to Konoha, you would make it there before them." Tenten told her jokingly.

"I'm not that competitive, unfortunately." Yuki replied, half chuckling.

They eventually all made it back to the village. As the rest of them entered the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village, they could spot Lee and Gai cheering and glossing about being first place and what not. Kakashi, meanwhile, even though he didn't run himself, was exhausted and moved around like a rag doll on Gai's back. Yuki smiled at the scene. She needed this lightheartedness. She forgot how cheerful Konohagakure actually was outside of the shadow she stood in. She walked pass them and said:

"Kakashi-senpai should really be brought to the hospital to recover."

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Gai said. "Would you mind reporting on the mission to Tsunade for me then?"

"Please leave that to me." Yuki replied as she was already walking towards the Hokage's office.

"Yuki, wait! I'm coming with you." Sakura said as she rushed after her and waved goodbye to the rest of them.

* * *

 **T** hey arrived at the Hokage's office's door just before the sunset. As they were about to knock on the door, it opened and Shikamaru walked out looking exhausted. He looked at Yuki, slightly surprised as he wasn't aware of her return. He smiled and pointed towards the ceiling. Yuki nodded and smiled back. She figured there were a few people she would have to talk to upon her return. He was one of them.

Yuki and Sakura walked into Tsunade's office and closed the door behind them. Yuki quickly reported about the mission and the events that happened during it, as well as any information related to the Akatsukis and their members. As she finished, she looked at Sakura who seemed hesitant about sharing something. Yuki figured that it was best for her to leave. She was just about to bid her farewell when someone knocked on the door. Tsunade bit her lip before allowing whoever was outside to join them. It was none other than Danzo. Just as somber as he had always been, he slowly made his way into the office followed by one of his ANBUs. Yuki glared at him.

"Yuki, you don't have to look at me in such ways. I've already agreed to Tsunade to let you leave the Foundation." He told her. "However, you do know a lot about us, therefore I cannot remove that curse seal off of you."

"I don't need to speak for anyone to know of your dirty secrets." She replied coldly. "Tsunade-sama, I'll take my leave then."

Tsunade nodded. Yuki left quickly. She couldn't stand breathing the same air as that man. She stood by the door for a bit, however. She felt relieved that she was now free, in a way, of the Foundation. However, part of her remained fearful of the fact that they were after her eyes and that they were now all in the same village. As she stood there for a bit longer, the door opened again and the ANBU who was previously in the room also came out. He stood by the door. Yuki bit her lip and started walking away.

"You remember me, right?" He asked.

"How could I possibly forget." Yuki replied in an icy tone.

"It was my mission."

"That's such a lame excuse."

"As an ANBU, you know the importance of a mission."

"Not when the mission involves harming someone from the same village as you."

"A mission is a mission."

"A friend is a friend." Yuki said as she vanished from the scene.

She found no purpose in talking more to him. He wasn't worth her time any longer. He felt like trash to her. The stench of his actions were still so pungent to her. She couldn't stand him. Despite the lack of it, she would always smell the blood that stained his weapons and his hands. Even more than Danzo, she hated him. He, who had no name, couldn't be trusted in her books. As she appeared on the rooftop with a frown on her face thinking about such things, she was greeted by a smiling and relaxed face.

"Shikamaru, I see you still love watching the clouds." She said as she, also, relaxed a little and took place next to him.

"And you are still as troublesome as ever." He replied.

"I know you never found me troublesome." Yuki said, grinning.

She didn't know why, but he also always made her feel at ease. He was one of these characters who didn't need to say much or to hear much to understand. He didn't like things that were complicated, yet the most complex things were understood by him. He had a depth that nobody else she knew had, including herself. He was wise beyond his age. She appreciated that.

"Was it that obvious?" He jokingly asked her.

She nodded before asking:

"Why did you ask me to come up here?"

"I felt like I needed to thank you."

"Huh?"

"Back then, you saved Neji, didn't you?"

"Who knows... Maybe he wasn't meant to die back then."

"Regardless of that, without you, he probably would have died and I probably would have never let that go. I would have blamed myself every single day for his death."

"So, you are saying that I managed to save you from a life of remorse? I'll take that." Yuki said as she stood up and yawned.

"You are leaving already?"

"I haven't rested in a few days." She replied. "I'll see you around."

She then disappeared. He sat there with a smile on his face. He had been waiting for her to come back for that very thank you. Despite other factors coming into play, he knew that without Yuki, he would have quit being a ninja long ago. He looked at the spot where she had vanished from. It left behind a trail a smoke from the ice meeting the warmth of the sun that was setting. He lied back down and enjoyed the sky that had now turned pink and the clouds that seemed lighter than ever.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 45**

* * *

Thank you for reading.

xox

Krystal


	47. Chapter 46: Captain

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 46: Captain**

* * *

 **N** aruto was frantically running around the village that morning. Yuki was heading to the hospital to visit Kakashi when she spotted him. He seemingly saw her as well and detoured back to talk to her. She stood still waiting for him to come. A little further ahead, Shikamaru and Choji were waving at her as they were also headed in their direction.

"Yuki! You don't have a team, right? We need someone to fill in for Kakashi-sensei since he is bed ridden."

"I can't decide on that, Naruto. I actually have to meet up with Tsunade-sama to see what her plans are for me." Yuki replied as Shikamaru and Choji joined up with them.

"What about you, Shikamaru?" Naruto quickly asked them without greeting them properly.

"Sorry, Naruto. We were just assigned a mission this morning. We are about to leave."

"What good friends you guys are..." Naruto mumbled.

Before he could finish that train of thoughts, something flew at them and they all scattered and looked towards the Hokage tower. Yuki recognized that _something_. She didn't move from her spot. She could tell Sai was the one sitting on the tower's rooftop sending his painted beasts at them. She hadn't seen him in a while without his ANBU masked. She raised an eyebrow trying to comprehend why he would attack them. Shikamaru became Naruto's support right away trying to hold Sai down with his shadow, but he was too slow and Sai left the scene with a fake smile drawn on his face.

"He is definitely from Konohagakure." Shikamaru said.

"He's from the Root." Yuki said. "I don't know why he attacked Naruto though."

"The Root?" Naruto asked.

"I'm heading to the hospital. I'll see you around." Yuki said, ignoring Naruto's question.

* * *

Yuki promptly arrived at the hospital. She climbed the stairs and turned the corner to head into Kakashi's hospital room. As she pushed the door open, she saw Kakashi sitting up in his bed with Tsunade, Shizune and another man who had his back turned to her.

"Yuki, you are just in time. Come in and say hi." Tsunade told her.

"Tenzo-senpai!" Yuki said cheerfully, recognizing the man as an ANBU she worked with when she was also in the organization, under Kakashi's supervision.

"Please, call me Yamato now." He told her, scratching the back of his head as the name Tenzo was not his to own either.

"He will be replacing Kakashi temporarily." Tsunade explained.

"Naruto was going around crazily looking for someone for his team." Yuki told with a smile as she looked at Kakashi's medical chart.

"Danzo requested for one of his ANBU to join them. What was his name again?" Tsunade asked she turned towards Shizune.

"Sai." Yuki answered instead.

"Yuki-san, how did you know?" Shizune asked her, surprised.

"We ran into him earlier. I assume he was testing Naruto out. Yamato-senpai, you will truly have your hands full with this team."

Yamato sighed. Kakashi chuckled. Tsunade frowned.

"What more can you tell us about this Sai character?" She then asked Yuki.

"Not much. He's your typical Root ANBU. Actually, he's more than that. He is the perfect Root ANBU: emotionless, cold and ruthless."

Yamato and Yuki exchanged looks. He was once apart of that organization. He knew how they were trained. However, not all of them were able to suppress all emotions like Yuki had mentioned. He knew that if such a person existed, he should be feared as no one could ever know what he wants to achieve.

"Well, I'm glad if it's someone, it's you who is going to be in charge of my team, Tenzo." Kakashi said to lighten up the mood that reigned in the room.

"Kakashi-senpai, please, it's Yamato now."

"What's the mission and why the rush?" Yuki asked Tsunade.

"Sakura got intel from Sasori that the spy he had planted by Orochimaru side would come to the Tenchi Bridge in 10 days of time. Naruto obviously caught wind of that and believes there's a possibility of finding Sasuke there as well."

Yuki nodded as she now understood why he was so frantic earlier. She hadn't heard Sasuke's name in so long. Not she had forgotten about him, but more like she had given up on him. She stopped believing in the possibility of him returning to village and having a normal life among them all. She looked to the floor. She felt like she disappointed Itachi as well. He told her to take care of Sasuke. She believed she failed miserably. She couldn't even believe in him, how could she ever watch over him?

"I know you would have wanted to join them as well, but Kakashi wants you to stay here in the village so he can teach you the extent of the Sharingan." Tsunade then said, interrupting her train of thoughts.

"I don't..." Yuki started.

"I wanted to stop you from getting hurt because we knew Danzo wanted something to do with the Sharingan. However, now that everything is out in the open, I believe that it is in your best interest as well as the village's best interest to have you master your eyes." Tsunade cut her as she knew that Yuki had been unwilling for a long time now to rely on her eyes.

"Power is scary, especially when it's unknown. However, once you hone it well, power is useful and can help save lives. You should know that first hand." Kakashi then said. "I can only do so much to teach you too. I think the rest you will be able to figure it out on your own and as you fight."

"I am well aware of that, but..." Yuki started before sighing. "I understand."

"Oh, another thing. I've decided to promote you to jonin. You will be filling in for Kurenai while she's pregnant. You will be Team 8's new captain."

"Are you sure it's wise to let me lead a team? I'm not exactly known to be a team player." Yuki said as she bit her inferior lip.

"It's something you learn as you go." Yamato told her. "When Kakashi-senpai left, I had to be in charge all of the sudden. I made mistakes at the beginning, but I learned with experience. You are much smarter than I am. You will figure it out."

"Thanks." Yuki said, although she still doubted her skills as a leader.

"You both should go meet your team. You don't want to keep them waiting for too long." Tsunade then told them.

"Naruto is really impatient too." Kakashi told Yamato, smiling. "Have fun."

* * *

 ** _C_** _aptain._ Yuki thought to herself as she made her way to Team 8's location. They were waiting for her in the forest as instructed by Kurenai who announced her pregnancy just hours ago. She wondered how they would feel having a captain that was just about their age. Tsunade had handed her their files so that she could have an idea of who she would be dealing with. They were the perfect team for tracking from what Yuki could tell. They were also team she knew the least about within the teams of chunins that graduated the same year as Naruto. She sighed as she approached their location. _Captain_. It was a heavy weight on her shoulders. It was the weight of three lives.

"Eh? Don't tell me you are our new captain?" Kiba said as she waved to them.

"Sorry to disappoint." Yuki replied as she expected Kiba to feel unsettled about her appointment as their new team captain.

Shino didn't seem to mind, but then again, it was hard to tell how he felt most of the time she had met him. Hinata was as quiet as ever. However, she had been grateful to Yuki since their first Chunin exam.

"So... you probably already know my name. I'm Yuki. I was appointed as your new team captain until Kurenai-san comes back."

"I don't understand why we need a team captain who is basically our age." Kiba said as he was frowning.

He knew very little about Yuki. In fact, the two of them never really interacted before that day. Before Yuki could reply to that comment, Shino said quietly:

"That's because we need someone who is level headed to lead us. The Hokage probably knows how short-tempered you are and how we are unable to keep you in check, Kiba. That's why she sent Yuki here to lead the team."

"I don't care what the Hokage thinks. She's just like one of us. She should be an equal, not a superior." Kiba said, expressing very clearly his discontent.

"I... I think Yu-Yuki-san would be a... a... great captain." Hinata then murmured.

"Hinata! When have I let you guys down as the team's leader?"

"Team leader?" Yuki asked. "I don't recall reading in any of your files that you were the team leader."

"UNOFFICIAL team leader!" Kiba corrected himself.

Yuki chuckled. She sighed and then told them:

"I can understand the concerns you might have about me being your team captain. I think it's only fair for you to doubt someone you barely even know. I'll give you the chance to challenge me as the team captain. If you are able to defeat me, I'll tell Tsunade-sama that you don't need me as a team captain and that you will be fine on your own. However, if the opposite happens, I hope you can accept be as your new team captain."

"Are you challenging all four of us at the same time?" Kiba asked as he patted Akamaru who was seemingly ready to fight.

"I should at least be this confident if I want to lead you."

"Don't say it wasn't fair after you lose." Kiba said loudly as he readied himself for the battle.

"Kiba-kun... Is... Is this really necessary?" Hinata asked.

"Hinata, take it as if we were training to get better knowledge of each other's skills if you are unwilling to fight for leadership. I expect you to give it your all." Yuki said as she retreated herself into the forest to hide from them.

Yuki was curious to see how skilled they were in tracking, knowing of their great reputation in the art. From what she knew, the Inuzuka clan had insanely enhanced sense of smell, Hinata's byakugan rivaled Neji's and the Aburame's clan's bugs were like perfect tracking chips. The three of them were known to be some of the best shinobis in their respective clans. However, she was also well aware of their weaknesses. Kiba never thought ahead enough to hold out in a long fight. He fought everything head on without much planning involved. Hinata was kind, sometimes she was too kind. She also lacked confidence. She would be able to do so much more if she gained that self-confidence. As for Shino, his only weakness was his skills in hand to hand combat. As long as Yuki could come close enough, she had a sure win against him. However, he also knew that was his biggest weakness. Therefore, he would make sure she wouldn't be able to get within range for a taijutsu battle.

"Found you!" Kiba yelled as he and Akamaru were charging head on. "Dynamic ma... Huh, where did she go?"

Yuki had flashed herself away from him and gracefully arrived in the forest clearing where she met with Hinata. Hinata was in position to fight her. She did not move forward despite being able to strike Yuki at that moment. Yuki smiled knowing how unwilling Hinata was to fight for no reason.

"I told you to give it your all, Hinata."

"I already know you will be a great team captain." Hinata replied as she lowered her hands.

"This isn't about who gains leadership, it's about getting to know each other." Yuki said as she took Hinata down and tied her hands together. "But, I also don't want to make things difficult for you. So, just sit tight here. It shouldn't last much longer."

Yuki vanished and headed back into the forest, leaving Hinata there in the clearing to wait for the fight between Kiba, Shino and Yuki to be over. As Yuki made her way through the forest, she sensed Shino's chakra being nearby. He wasn't close enough to see her, but he kept heading in her direction at great speed. She smirked and decided to lead him towards the hidden lake in the forest. She assumed he had put a tracking bug on her when they first announced the challenge. However, because he knew little about her abilities, she assumed that his bugs were not immune to her ice jutsu. If she lead him to the lake, she would have to resort to little chakra to stop his bugs from attacking her. As she reached the lake, she just stood right in the middle of it, patiently waiting for him to arrive. As he appeared, he calmly walked to the edge of the water. He looked at her through his dark sunglasses and said:

"We've known each other for a long time now."

"I remember seeing you when we were just children. It was a rainy day, wasn't it?" Yuki asked, smiling.

"You actually remember me, unlike some people I consider friends."

"I'm guessing Naruto is the one you are referring to?"

"You've guessed that because he was the only one who was away for a long time from the village."

"Correct."

"Since you have such good memory, you must remember that my bugs can constantly evolve and that water isn't something that can stop them as many commonly think it would."

"I do remember that. However, your bugs can only evolve if you have knowledge of your opponents' skills. Unfortunately, none of you truly know the extent of my capabilities."

With that said, he then sent his bugs after Yuki. She quickly kicked the water up in the air and used her wind jutsu to freeze them all. As it provided a shield for Yuki, she quickly made her way to the edge of the water to strike Shino. As she landed the first hit, she realized it was a bug clone. She quickly reacted by using her ice jutsu to stop their movement as well as prevent them from forming dome around her. She then sensed Kiba's chakra charging at her from above. She flashed herself back to the center of the lake and heard a loud crashing sound where she was was previously. She then used an earth jutsu to keep Kiba trapped in the ground alongside with Akamaru. Shino, only then, stepped out of the forest and said:

"I guess the battle is over. You win."

"Shino! What do you mean she wins? You are still able to fight."

"No and that's because she knows none of my current bugs are able to fight off her ice jutsu as it is not a common jutsu to encounter. Hinata also doesn't want to fight, therefore, she's already out of the picture. You are currently trapped in solid rock and are unable to lend a hand. She's way above us in both fighting prowess and intelligence. Kiba, I think it's time to accept this defeat."

"Damn it." Kiba said, pouting. "Welcome to the team, captain."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 46**

* * *

Thank you for reading.

Sorry it took so long for an update. It should be back up regularly now!

Let me know what you think of it so far.

xox

Krystal


	48. Chapter 47: Worthiness

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 47: Worthiness**

* * *

 **W** orking with Team 8 was less of a hassle than Yuki thought it was going to be. They went on a few recognition missions together within the few days that followed their encounter in the forest. Kiba was surprisingly less stubborn than Yuki had initially thought he would be. He listened well and knew that his impulsive nature was his weakness. They finally earned some well-deserved resting time. Yuki wished them a good rest and decided to head to Tsunade's office to hand in her report on the last mission. She also wanted to ask about Naruto's mission. They should have be meeting the spy right around the next day. Along the way, she saw Shizune carrying boxes filled of paperwork for Tsunade up the stairs. She quickly rushed over to give her a hand.

"So, how is it working as a team captain?"

"Exhausting." Yuki replied as she chuckled. "But it's been good."

"How's the training with Kakashi?"

"I think we overdid it. He's back in the hospital. He was trying to show off." Yuki said jokingly.

Training for the Sharingan was harder than managing a team of talented chunins. However, Yuki was doing quite well according to Kakashi. She was a natural as the Sharingan belonged to her unlike Kakashi's whose was implanted. She didn't have to exert as much energy as Kakashi to maintain it for a long time. She became at ease with its usage as well. She didn't regard it as a curse as much as before. She wasn't truly happy about her newly gained power, but she wasn't hating it as much as previously. Kakashi wasn't wrong about the possibility it could give her. She just didn't want to rely on it too much. She still blamed it for Itachi's suffering, but she was now convinced she could it for a greater good.

As they finally made it all the way to the Hokage's office, Shizune entered the room followed by Yuki. The two of them dropped off the boxes on the ground, making a ruckus and causing a sleepy Tsunade to wake up. As she stretched and yawned, she listened to Yuki's quick report on her mission with Team 8.

"Good. I'm glad that's all figured out. You can take your leave now if there's nothing else to report."

"Um... I just have one more question."

"Go on." Tsunade told her.

"About the Tenchi Bridge..."

"The last report from Yamato said that they have reached the bridge and are ready to meet up with the spy."

"I see..."

Tsunade smiled and walked over to Yuki. She gave her a pat on the shoulder and whispered:

"If you are that curious, maybe you should head over there as well..."

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune called her out. "We are already short-staffed. You can't send her away as well!"

"I mean, her team has to rest regardless. They've been working hard. This could be like a break to Yuki." Tsunade replied nonchalantly.

"If I have your permission to leave the village then..." Yuki started.

"I thought you had given up on Sasuke." Tsunade then said much more seriously.

"But I want to make sure Naruto is going to be okay." Yuki replied. "Even though I've lost faith in Sasuke, Naruto still believes in him. I believe in Naruto. I've grown to believe in him. He has the ability to make the impossible possible. I kinda want to witness that."

"As long as your disappointment in Sasuke doesn't grow deeper." Tsunade said.

"I also want to make sure Sai doesn't try something funny." Yuki replied. "If Danzo was after my sharingan, it is possible that he sent Sai with them in order to get Sasuke's sharingan. I don't know why he wants it, but I think that we have to stop that no matter what."

"Yamato was made aware of it. I think, more than all of us, he knows Danzo best." Tsunade said. "But it wouldn't hurt to have one more person watching him."

"I can't win, can I?" Shizune asked, exasperated as neither of them were listening to her.

"I'll meet up with them after they've encountered the spy. I'm pretty sure whatever plan they have doesn't take me into account." Yuki said as she jumped out the opened window under Shizune's scolding voice, telling her to use the door instead.

* * *

 **Y** uki decided to leave the village at dawn. She didn't rush to the bridge as she did not want to disrupt any plans that Yamato might have had put in place. She wasn't moving slowly either. She wanted her timing to be right when Yamato's team would have to face Sasori's spy, perhaps in a fight. She wanted to be an observer and nothing more as she believed she wouldn't really be of any help. She was mostly curious about how Naruto would react when he would see Sasuke again. That is, if, they do meet again on this mission. She also truly wanted to ensure the safety of everyone as she knew Sai better than most. He definitely had a secret mission and she knew that for the sake of that mission, he would do anything, even kill one of his teammates.

She had been by bridge many times now as she often had to travel to Kusogakure for diplomatic reasons as an ANBU. She knew some of her seals were still in the surrounding area. Seeing as the time was going by quickly, she decided to flash herself to the village's entrance before heading towards the bridge from there. As soon as she got close enough, she heard fighting sound already. By the sound of it, it wasn't just team Kakashi against the one spy. There were two unfamiliar chakra sources present. As she closed her eyes to get a better sense of the chakras that were present, she realized that Naruto had, once again, slipped into his Nine-tailed mode. She rushed over to the bridge quickly, ready to enter the fight as soon as needed. Something had gone wrong.

As she arrived on the bridge, it was completely destroyed. An unconcious Sakura was lying there slowly slipping from the bridge's structure. Yamato was seemingly injured, but still tried to hold the bridge together with his wood release. Meanwhile, further away, in the forest, Yuki spotted the three tails of Naruto that was fighting someone who looked to be Orochimaru. On the other side of the bridge was Kabuto who was also injured and was healing himself while watching the fight between Naruto and his master. Sai drew out a large bird and jumped on it. As soon as he did, the bridge no longer held together and Sakura fell into the ravine. Yamato yelled out to tell him to catch her, but he ignored the order and his fallen teammate, as Yuki had expected. Instead, Yuki threw one of her kunai's in Sakura's direction, flashed herself there, grabbed onto her arm and flashed the both of them back onto stable ground.

"Yuki!" Yamato called out as he rushed over to check on Sakura. "When... How did you know?"

"I just came here out of curiosity. I wasn't expecting all of this." Yuki replied as she began to heal Sakura.

"If I were you, I would go over to Naruto, instead." A stranger's voice told them. "I owe her a thank you for killing Sasori. I'll take care of the healing."

"Stand back!" Yuki warned him.

"You should be friendlier to the one who helped you advance through the Chunin exams." He then said as he stopped moving closer. "I mean it though. I will help heal her. I'm also a better medical ninja than you are from what I remember."

Yuki bit her lip as her palms slowly lifted away from Sakura's wound. He wasn't wrong. He was the superior medical ninja. She simply didn't know if she could trust him.

"You could stick around and make sure that I am indeed helping her since you know a little about medical ninjutsu." He said, slightly mocking her. "You've grown a lot, Yuki-san. I saw what you did there at the bridge. I didn't know you had such great skills."

"Kabuto, don't act like we know each other. We fought that once only."

From where he was standing, he managed to heal Sakura's wound with better precision than Yuki. The frown on Sakura's face slowly released itself and she seemed much more at ease. He then stopped.

"That should be enough."Kabuto said. "See you all some other time."

He vanished. He probably joined up with Orochimaru. As Yuki turned her head in direction of the fight, she saw Naruto flying back towards the bridge, crashing into the trees and ground by it. A large gush of wind nearly knocked the rest of the trees off. Yamato quickly headed over and suppressed the Nine-tail chakra with his wood release leaving a badly injured Naruto on the ground. Whenever he entered that state for too long, his skin would peel off from the burning and he would be unconscious for a bit before waking up with no recollection of what had happened.

"He will mostly heal by himself." Yuki told Yamato. "I'll head off after Orochimaru."

"One of my clones is already on their tail. Sai joined them. I've placed a tracking seed on these three. It won't be too hard to follow."

"I should still go. I think I need to stop Sai before he runs into Sasuke."

Yamato sighed as he realized she had already made up her mind.

"Fine. Just don't take any dangerous action by yourself. You might be team 8's captain, but for this mission, I'm the captain. So, please, don't take any unnecessary risks. I don't want to have to deal with the consequences."

"Understood, Yamato-taicho." Yuki replied as she headed into the forest in which Orochimaru, Kabuto and Sai had disappeared into.

* * *

 **S** he only caught up to them once they reached their hideout. She sent out a note via her summoning bunny to Yamato to indicate the location. Yuki was uncertain as to whether she should infiltrate the hideout as well. She knew it was one of the risks that Yamato had warned her not to take, but she also didn't want to delay action. She feared that Sai would have the upper hand on his mission since he was already in. If there was one thing she was certain about, it was that Danzo would never order Sai to betray Konoha. However, she knew that he would resort to any means to obtain what he wanted, even if that included collaborating with an enemy or harming anyone in the village for the sake of the village. He didn't care about feelings or bonds. All he cared about was his goal. She thought about it for a little longer and then decided to head into the hideout.

Yuki was used to infiltration mission. As a former ANBU, a lot of her missions were infiltration and reconnaissance missions. She was used to disarming trap and finding her way through mazes. This was no different. However, to her surprise, there were no traps. She wandered for a bit in the dark tunnels. She tried to locate people within the tunnels, but there wasn't much around. Suddenly, she sensed a presence right behind her. Before she could turn around, she felt a cold blade resting on her shoulder, close to her neck. She closed her eyes for a second. She knew she wasn't mistaken.

"I didn't know I was getting a visitor today." The owner of the sword then said.

She could no longer recognize the voice, but the chakra was definitely his.

"I didn't think I was going to run into you so soon, Sasuke."

"You really like to put your nose into other people's business."

"It's part of my job, you know."

"You are still talkative as ever."

"Our last talk didn't go through so well."

"Hn. I should thank you for that, actually. It allowed me to realize how weak I was, staying in Konohagakure."

"And instead of putting in the effort and time, you decided to seek out power elsewhere, through illicit ways."

She could hear him snicker behind her. It was her chance to move away from the vulnerable position she was in. She quickly grabbed her katana, pushed it against his sword and moved away from Sasuke and towards the wall.

"Our last fight seemed a little unfair."

Yuki bit her lip. She could tell that he had improved a lot since they last saw each other. As much as she also made a lot of progression, she feared that he had advanced far more than what a normal shinobi could have done. She could also tell that there was growing murderous intent behind his eyes and that would only make his fighting even more ferocious. She wanted to see the Sasuke who held onto his brother so dearly. However, she was unable to see past those dark and cold eyes. As those thoughts crossed her mind, Sasuke's sword glistened with the lightning that now was coating it. He charged at her and she dodged it skillfully, knowing that any hit would most likely kill her. His sword's skills improved greatly. Every movement was preceded and followed smoothly by another. He didn't seem to have to put much effort into it. He became faster and faster with every move. Eventually, he was able to cut a few strands of Yuki's hair. As they both saw the white thin strands slowly falling onto the ground, they also struck each other weapons and were pushing their own against it.

"What do you think? Am I good enough to fight Itachi now?"

"What do you think, Sasuke? Can you defeat me first?"

He smirked. Yuki looked down and saw that his other hand was now coated in a lightning nature chakra and aiming for her heart. She quickly moved back and used her ice jutsu to stop Sasuke from moving closer. She created an ice wall in which his hand was now trapped. He widened the chakra surrounding his hand and shattered the ice as its fragments now were glistening from the ceiling down to the ground. They were standing a few meters from each other, staring into each other's eyes as the rest of their bodies were concealed in the darkness of the halls. Sasuke's eyes closed for a second and as he opened them, his eyes had turn blood red, the color of his Sharingan.

"If you were smart, you would look away." He told her as he walked towards her with his sword dragging on the ground.

"Never lose sight of the enemy. It's one of the first rule in the Shinobi Book." Yuki replied as tied her hair into a high ponytail.

She rarely ever tied her hair. She only did so when she knew the battle was going to be intense. She had a feeling they wouldn't stop until there was a clear winner or until someone died. She didn't want to dirty her hand. She wanted to believe that Naruto would be able to convince Sasuke to come back to the village. It was seemingly too late. Sasuke was consumed by revenge and the desire for power. He did not care for what was right or wrong. Yuki blinked for a second as she also revealed her Sharingan to Sasuke. He seemed slightly taken aback. She wasn't surprised. After all, nobody knew she also gifted by the dojutsu.

"I think we've dragged this on for long enough." Yuki told him as she put her katana away and prepared herself to form some seals.

"We finally agreed on something." He replied as he also readied himself to use a large scale ninjutsu.

As both of them glanced at each other one last time, their lightning jutsus were released. They were comparable in size and, as they collided, they created a large explosion, collapsing all the surrounding walls and caving in the ceiling. They both jumped away from each other as to avoid getting hit by the falling stones and concrete. As Yuki jumped back, she threw a few ice needles towards him. He quickly blocked them away despite the dust that was rising from the ground. Yuki stayed down. He jumped up.

"You remind me of Haku. He was a kid I once fought who also used ice jutsus and needles. You also remind me of that ANBU who was present during that time."

Yuki didn't respond to that. Before she knew it, Naruto Sakura, Sai and Yamato had joined up with her. She glanced over at Sai as he raised his weapon at Sasuke. Naruto called out Sasuke's name.

"I didn't think there would be a reunion today." Sasuke said coldly. "If this could even be called a reunion, that is."

"Sasuke! Stop being an idiot and let's head back to the village together." Naruto yelled out to him. "All our friends are still waiting for you."

"Friends?" Sasuke said. "I don't remember such things."

"Sasuke, you are right. Not many would want you back in the village." Sai then started. "However, Naruto still considers you a friend, so does Sakura. For that, I've decided to change my mission. I'll bring you back to the village for their sake."

Yuki thought she had misheard at first. It wasn't like Sai to decide to go against Danzo's orders.

"I heard you worked for Danzo. You are not a very good ANBU, now are you." Sasuke told him.

"I always was too good at my job." Sai replied with a smile. "Unfortunately, I was never a good friend. I've learned from my mistakes. I've also realized the importance of bonds as I've talked to Naruto. Your bond with Naruto is still there. You should cherish it while it remains. If not, you might regret it once it's broken. I know that first hand."

He looked over at Yuki who was still stoic. She didn't know whether she believed him or not. She looked away. She looked at Sasuke's reaction. He was smirking. He found it amusing. Sasuke then said:

"I think you misunderstood what kind of bond we have. It's a bond of hatred, not of friendship."

As he said those words, he jumped down from the elevation he was on and headed for Naruto. He was stopped by Yamato, however, his sword managed to stab their captain in the chest. Meanwhile, he had released his lightning, paralyzing the remaining three as Yuki dodged his attack thanks to the foresight of her Sharingan. Yamato then pushed Sasuke back with his Wood Release to which Sasuke reacted by sending an even larger lightning ninjutsu towards them. Yuki jumped in and redirected the lightning towards the sky using herself as a conductor. Yamato used his Wood release to stop the lightning. As Sasuke came back towards Naruto with his sword, Sai managed to free himself from the paralysis and blocked the attack for Naruto. Sasuke covered himself in a lightning chakra coat, electrocuting Sai and making him fall to his knees. Sakura, freed from the paralysis by a wounded Yamato, rushed over to protect Naruto. Sasuke did not stop himself. Yuki threw her katana towards them to divert his sword from its direct line to hurt Sakura and Naruto. Finally moving, Naruto's chakra began to change once again to the Nine-tails. However, before it could emerge, it somehow stopped itself. From sheer willpower, Naruto managed to suppress his own rage. He won against the Nine-tails. As Yamato saw that Naruto would be okay, he went for Sasuke again, trapping him in a wooden cage. However, Sasuke easily escaped and jumped back onto the elevated ground he was previously on.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled. "You... You've gotten strong enough now. If you stay with Orochimaru, he'll just use you as his next container."

"Naruto, you are still so naive. I couldn't care less about what he does. As long as I gain the power to kill Itachi, I can become whatever." Sasuke replied.

With those words, Orochimaru appeared and whispered into Sasuke's ear. He seemed unhappy at what Orochimaru had just told him. Without a goodbye, he simply vanished alongside Orochimaru and Kabuto who had now joined them. Naruto yelled out his name one more time as he crumbled down onto his knees. Yuki undid her ponytail allowing her hair to go loose in the wind. She walked over to Naruto and placed her hand on his shoulder as an act to comfort him.

"He..." Naruto started. "I know he'll come around some day. He simply just needs more time."

Yuki sighed. She didn't know if Naruto was simply to dumb to see the changes that Sasuke had gone through or if Naruto was simply so hopeful that he decided to ignore the fact that Sasuke had change.

"I'll come back to the village, I'll train even harder and, then, I'll find Sasuke again. I will definitely bring him back then." Naruto said as he got back on his feet.

He walked over to Sai who was still on the ground, recovering from the blow he took for Naruto. Yuki walked over as well and gave him basic first aid. He looked at her, hoping she would say something, but she kept quiet.

"At least, I found a new friend on this trip." Naruto said as he showed his fist to Sai.

Sai looked at him in a daze. He wasn't too sure what to do.

"He wants a fist bump." Yuki explained coldly. "It's his way of saying that he accepts you now as a teammate and a friend."

Naruto grinned widely as Sai responded to his fist bump. Yuki was still uncertain about Sai. She wasn't as big of a believer in heart changes as Naruto was. She didn't believe Sai was as trustworthy as they made it sound. Nonetheless, she remained quiet on the matter. His worthiness as a friend or even as teammate, to Yuki, had to be proven over time. She could accept him as a fellow villager, but to call someone like him a friend, she was still very much unwilling. He could tell despite his lack of understanding emotions. She was cold towards him. She was warm towards the others. The difference was so clear that even the most insensible human being could tell. He knew he had to prove himself to her. He knew that his previous actions were unforgivable. He never regretted anything more than that day he raised his weapon against her.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 47**

* * *

A bit of a longer chapter.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Let me know what you think in the reviews.

xox

Krystal


	49. Chapter 48: Meanings

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 48: Meanings**

* * *

 **A** s soon as they got back, Naruto urged Kakashi to come out of bed and to train him. After the mission, he came to the realization that Sasuke had progressed far more than what he had anticipated. He felt like he was left behind once again. Kakashi, however, still needed a few days to recover. He sighed every time Naruto would come to his hospital room and bother his rest to which Sakura responded by scolding Naruto. Yuki would come by often between her short missions with Team 8 to visit Kakashi as well. He always enjoyed her visits as she wasn't as loud as Naruto. Sai often joined Sakura and Naruto in their visits. He would always try to talk to Yuki, but she often ignored him. It didn't come unnoticed by the others.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm just going to sleep here until you recover so that we can start immediately after." Naruto announced as he tucked himself in the bed next to Kakashi.

"Naruto! Don't be silly. You've got to let sensei rest." Sakura said as she tried to pull him out of the bed.

"I'm just going to be sleeping here."

Yuki sighed and chuckled at the same time. Sai just stood there and smiled. He enjoyed seeing the interactions between the members of Team Kakashi. Everyone remained so cheerful despite all that had happened to them. He wasn't used to it. Things were rather somber within the Root. Yuki stood up from her seat and headed outside after she said goodbye to everyone. She bumped into Tsunade on her way out who gave her sign to follow her. Yuki obeyed. Something was definitely wrong for Tsunade to come looking for her at such a late time. As they entered the office, Asuma and Shikamaru were already present as well as two other people that Yuki recognized to be Aoba and Raido. She lined up beside them waiting for Tsunade to explain why they were all asked to her office.

"Asuma, Chiriku of the Twelve Guardian Ninja was recently murdered. One of his students managed to come here and tell us what had happened." Tsunade announced.

Asuma's face turned pale. He clenched onto the sash that was tied around his waist as he looked down to his feet, mourning for the death of his friend. Shikamaru looked over at his teacher, trying to find a way to comfort him for his loss.

"Chiriku is one of the strongest among them, how..." Raido started.

"The Akatsukis attacked their temple and killed him." Tsunade said. "Yuki, you should be familiar with the ones who attacked Chiriku. From the description that young monk gave us, they were the two you sent me a report about two years ago."

"Hidan and Kakuzu?" Yuki asked.

Tsunade nodded and gave her sign to explain her encounter with them and to brief the others on their abilities.

"The one named Hidan follows this weird religion with a god named Jashin. He constantly looks for victims to sacrifice to this so called god. His abilities are unknown to me. He fights with a large scythe. He's not the smartest nor the fastest ninja, but, considering he is part of the Akatsukis, he must have some other abilities I haven't seen yet. The other one is Kakuzu. His name might not be unknown to us as he once fought the first Hokage. I can't tell you how, but he doesn't seem as old as he should be if we follow the timeline. He has all five elements nature chakra. He is also very physically strong. He's much smarter than his partner. He's also much more patient and calculative. Speed wise, he's not the fastest, however, he's not lacking in that department either. He uses this weird technique which consists moving grey strings. They are part of his body, not just weapons. I was told they had a nickname. What was it again... Ah, the Zombie Combo." Yuki told everyone without stopping much.

"They sound like a drag to deal with." Shikamaru said as he sighed.

"I have information stating that they are still within the Land of Fire territory. Your mission will be to find them, capture them alive if possible. If not, you are to eliminate them. Asuma, Raido and Yuki, you three will be team captains. Gather your team, let me know who you are taking and leave tomorrow at dawn."

"Yes." They all answered in unison as they left the office.

"I'm guessing you are taking Team 8 with you for this mission?" Shikamaru asked Yuki as they walked back home together.

"They are the best tracking team I know. They also work really well as a team already. I won't have to worry about that."

"It is less of a drag to be with people you already work well with." Shikamaru sighed. "Then again, I think everybody works pretty well with each other in this village."

They stopped talking as they were now right in front of Shikamaru's house.

"Care for a game of shogi before going home?" He then asked her.

"Sure." She replied as she stepped into his house.

They, then, sat in on the backyard's patio. Under the moonlight and dimly lit lantern, they began their game. Yuki was familiar with the concept of shogi, but she never really played it. From what she had heard from Asuma, Shikamaru was quite good at it.

"Don't laugh at me if I lose too quickly." Yuki warned him as they started.

"Eh? Something you are not good at! I'm surprised." He teased her.

Time went by quicker than Yuki had anticipated. She managed to play against Shikamaru for quite a while. Ultimately, he still won. He grabbed her king and looked at it for a long time. He then looked at her and told her:

"I was playing against Asuma last night and he asked me who I thought the King was in Konoha."

"What was you answer?"

"I said the Hokage, but he told me I was wrong."

"You are wrong." Yuki said as she stood up and stretched herself.

"Who's the King in Konoha then?"

"You'll figure it out eventually."

"That's what he said." Shikamaru said as he pouted. "It's been bothering me and, now, you are not helping."

"It's something you've got to figure out on your own."

"Hidden meanings are such a drag."

"This conversation is a drag." Yuki said, chuckling. "I'll see you bright and early at dawn."

She jumped over the gates in his backyard as she heard him telling her to use the door next time. She, then, slowly made her way back home.

* * *

 **F** rom afar, she noticed someone standing by the door of her place. She sighed as she got closer and recognized who it was. _Sai_. He was leaning against her door, looking down at his feet. He then sensed her approaching and looked up. He walked over to her with a smile on his face.

"I've been waiting all night here for you." He told her as he stopped right in front of her.

"Should I be touched for that?" She asked him coldly.

"I read that girls usually are when a guy waits for them at night for long time."

"Or they might be crept out."

"That was not my intention." He said as his smile disappeared. "Yuki... I..."

"I have to leave early tomorrow for a mission. I'm exhausted right now... So if you could move to the side, I would really appreciate that."

He stepped aside for her to walk by. Before she could get passed him, he then said:

"You know, I've been trying really hard these past few days to talk to you. Now that I get the chance to, you won't even listen to me."

"It's not that I won't listen, but listening won't do me any good. I've been through this with you before. Even if I listened, I wouldn't know what to believe. Sai, I don't know if you can recall the last few years, but I could never forget what you did to me."

"What am I supposed to do to help you forget?"

"Such things are not ever forgotten, they are forgiven."

"I've read somewhere that is was easier to forget than to forgive."

"That's not a lie. However, neither is quite easy for me right now."

"How can I help?"

"How about a sincere apology?"

"Did not I not apologize back then?"

"You said that you felt like you should, not that you felt sorry."

"I did." Sai answered quickly. "I didn't realize it back then, but I felt guilty for harming you. I didn't forget a single word you said to me. I thought about it over the next few years. It kept tormenting me, so I decided to toss all those memories aside. Then, I saw you again. I don't know what that feeling was, but I think it was happiness. Yes, I was happy to see that you were still alive. I was afraid that Danzo-sama had sent more people after my failure."

Yuki smirked. He couldn't see her face. She didn't believe the words that he just said. She, then, murmured:

"Excuses."

"I really want you to trust me once again. Everybody else seems to trust me now... why can't you?"

"Are you that simple-minded?"

"I don't know much."

"People might believe that you had a change of heart, but I know you well enough to know that your heart doesn't change."

"That's not..."

"True? It is though. You told me that yourself, after we left Sunagakure. I'm just repeating your words. Now, if you would excuse me, I need some rest."

As she furiously walked away from him, he grabbed her by the wrist. He didn't let go despite her trying to shake him off. She walked back in front of him and glared at him. He looked back into her eyes. They reminded him of the time he tried to take them away from her. It was the same cold and angry look. However, he still remembered mostly the kind eyes she had before that incident happened. Those were the eyes he loved to look into. They were so warm and full of life.

"Sai, let go..."

Before she could finish, he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips as his hand pulled her in closer, away from the light underneath which they were standing. She stood there, frozen, for a while before pushing him away violently. His other hand was still holding onto her wrist.

"I read today that this was the best way to express your love for someone." He said as she looked at him with a confused look on her face.

"I think you've misunderstood the meaning of love." She replied coldly. "Let go of my hand."

He let go. He took a step closer towards her as she took a step away from him.

"I think I clearly understand what it is." He said. "It only took me time to realize what it was."

Yuki didn't want to hear anymore. She flashed herself into her apartment and onto her bed, leaving Sai alone where they had kissed. She looked at her ceiling and wished to forget all that had happened so that she could fall asleep. However, she couldn't. She tossed and turned all night. She felt confused. She was still mad at him, yet her anger had dissipated somewhat unknowingly. As the sky got lighter, she grabbed her things and headed out without a second of sleep. As she opened the door, Sai was sleeping in front her door, leaned against the railing of the staircase. It was quite a chilly morning. She went back inside and grabbed a fleeced blanket. She headed back out and threw it without much care over him as she flashed herself to the main gate of the village to meet up with everyone.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 48**

* * *

Thank you for reading!

I hope you enjoyed the story so far.

I'm trying to stick to the original story as much as possible, but there will be many inaccuracies as the story progresses. Please forgive me.

Let me know what you think in the reviews!

xox

Krystal


	50. Chapter 49: King of their Home

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 49: King of their Home**

* * *

 **E** ach team was dispatched to a different area of the Land of Fire to find the two Akatsukis starting wherever there was a bounty station as they knew that those two were constantly looking for new heads with a bounty on them. Yuki and Team 8 were assigned a northern part of the Land of Fire. They wandered for a little while as everyone did their part to try to find the two trespassers. Finally, finding nothing out of the ordinary for the next few hours, they decided to take a rest on the rooftop of the bounty station.

"I hate this place." Kiba said. "It reeks..."

"To no surprise, that's because who knows how many dead corpses were in this building." Shino replied.

Yuki also hated the place. She hated the idea of bounty hunting. It allowed for human life to be given a worth that should only be given to objects. It made it seem as though some lives were more precious than others when all lives should be worth the same. She hated it because it justified murders when it should never be justify. Because they had nothing to do for the time being, Yuki's mind started to wander off as she began to think about Sai and about what had happened last night. She sighed as Shino looked at her wondering what was going through her head. He didn't ask her though. He believed that if she wanted to share, she would have. As they were resting, Yuki saw a black crow that was one of Aoba's. She raised her arm to allow it to lend on her. There was a message attached to it. Hinata grabbed the message and read it out to them:

"Asuma's team met with the two Akatsukis. Rendez-vous at their bounty station location."

Yuki sent the crow away and stood up immediately. She instructed the rest of them:

"Hold each others' hands. I'm teleporting us there."

"Wouldn't that waste a lot of chakra? We could rush there instead and be there in about 10 minutes or so." Kiba asked her.

"That would be a waste of 10 minutes." Yuki replied as everyone gathered around and held onto each other.

She did as she said. She flashed herself to where Asuma and Shikamaru were. She had previously marked each of the team leader with her seal. It ensured that if there was an emergency, any team would be able to have close to immediate support. As she got there, Asuma's right arm was badly burnt. She quickly headed over and healed the arm as best as she could.

"Oi, Kakuzu! Isn't that the girl we once fought?" Hidan asked his partner.

He looked different from how he used to look when she saw him last time. Hidan's skin was no longer of a flesh color. It was black and white. He resembled a demon. He was however trapped by Shikamaru's shadow.

"Oi, Kakuzu! There are more people joining now. I think you should jump in and help!"

"Oh? So you remember how helpless you were fighting against that kid last time." Kakuzu said as he looked at Yuki.

Meanwhile, Asuma was relieved from the pain from the burn on his arm. He told Yuki:

"Remember that sacrificial ceremony you talked about?"

"Yeah?"

"As long as he is in that circle, whoever blood's he consumed, that person will feel all the pain that is done to him." Asuma told her as he pointed at the circle painted on the ground.

"In summary, Asuma's life is within his hands now as long as he stays in that circle. Oh, did we mention he's immortal? I knew they would be a drag to fight against." Shikamaru said as he tried to move Hidan out of the circle.

Yuki bit her lip as she watch Shikamaru slowly making Hidan come out of the circle. As soon as both his feet were out, Asuma charged ahead and decapitated him. His head rolled off onto the ground, hitting Kakuzu's feet.

"DAMN IT! You have done it now! Kakuzu! Why didn't you jump in?!" Hidan said.

Shikamaru collapsed onto his knee as he was exhausted from maintaining his shadow for that long. Everybody else were stunned at the fact that Hidan could still speak.

"Damn it! That hurts, ya know. After I'm done with your sensei, I'm going for you next!" He yelled out at Shikamaru.

Kakuzu picked up Hidan's head and brought it over to his body. He reattached the body and head with the help of those grey strings. Hidan cracked his neck a few times before trying to come back into the circle. Yuki pushed him back using a large scale wind jutsu. Kakuzu escaped from the wind while Hidan is flown backwards. He jumped towards Yuki but was stopped by Kotetsu and Izumo who were the two other members of Team Asuma. However, their effort was in vain as he escaped from their attack and grabbed them both by the throat and lifted them up mercilessly. Team 8 jumped into help, but his grey strings were fighting them off. Yuki attacked Kakuzu as both his hands were occupied. All she wanted was to allow Izumo and Kotetsu to be freed. She saw the color on their faces changing. They didn't have much time either. Meanwhile, Hidan made his way back towards the circle after he kicked an exhausted Asuma against the wall of the bounty station. Yuki threw her kunai towards as to make it to him before he entered the circle. However, Asuma yelled out from below:

"Yuki! Don't you dare get close to him."

That extra second that took him to say that was too late. Hidan was once again in the circle. He dodged the kunai that ultimately hit the ground. What happened next occurred faster than time should have permitted to happen. Yuki and Shikamaru simply saw a rod-like weapon entering Hidan's chest, heard Asuma's cry out of pain and then saw a lightning strike down into the forest. Shikamaru rushed down to grab onto Asuma. As he did, Hidan went towards him yelling out that he was next. Shikamaru didn't see him coming. Yuki quickly created a wall around Shikamaru as she pushed Hidan away with her wind jutsu once again. His laughter blending into the wind sound kept resonating in her ears. It drove her insane.

"Yuki!" She heard Shikamaru cry out for her name. "He's still alive, come, come heal him. He can still make it."

"He won't be for much longer!" Hidan bellowed as he was still enjoying the scene of desperation in front of him. "But I really can't let you heal him"

He pointed his scythe towards Yuki. He swung it back and forth trying to get her. Yuki wanted to go over to Asuma, but the battle was still not over. As she saw Asuma's blood seeping beneath the rock wall she had created to protect both him and Shikamaru, her desperation and anxiety grew as well. She looked around and saw that Izumo and Kotetsu were now at the verge of dying out of suffocation. Kiba and Hinata were injured and unconscious on the rooftop, as Shino was still fighting by himself Kakuzu who had far more experience than any of them. All of the sudden a flock of crows appeared and Kakuzu released his grip on both Izumo and Kotetsu. Yuki sensed Ino and Choji's chakra as well. They quickly headed behind the rock wall and carried Asuma away from the fight. Shino grabbed both Kiba and Hinata and fled in the same direction as Aoba did the same with the remaining two. Raido gave Yuki sign to leave as well. She nodded and flashed herself to where Asuma and the others were. They weren't followed by the two Akatsukis to her surprise. It wasn't in Kakuzu's nature to let a bounty go. Nonetheless, Yuki was grateful they didn't.

She kneeled next to Ino who was desperately trying to save her teacher. However, the tears just kept on coming down her eyes. She shook her head as Yuki took over. As her palms were now above Asuma's wound, she could tell that it was already too late. She bit her lip and started forming a seal to transfer her own life energy into Asuma. He grabbed her hand and said:

"You need to care for your life a little more. There will be many deaths along your way, as a shinobi. You cannot save them all, just protect as many lives as you can. You've already done plenty. Don't waste your life for an old man like me."

"You are still alive. It wouldn't kill me..." Yuki replied as she wiped away the tears from her eyes.

"I'm already a dead man. Life energy cannot be restored that easily. What if they need you... What if you go to far..." He said.

Asuma then turned towards Ino. She couldn't bare to look at him in such a state. He was happy she didn't see him defeated like this. He sighed and told her:

"Ino, watch over Choji and Shikamaru for me. You've always been the compassionate and understanding one, despite your bossy nature. Don't lose that spark. Don't lose to Sakura either. Keep your head high at all time. Choji, you've always had such a kind heart. Don't let that disappear, but be strong. You have such strength. Know how to balance your kindness and strength. Try to lose a few pounds too. Don't eat out too much."

Choji nodded as Asuma coughed up some blood. He then looked over at Shikamaru:

"Light me one last cigarette, now will you?"

Shikamaru took out Asuma's lighter and placed a cigarette into his mouth and lit it for him. Asuma looked at the sky and told Shikamaru to lean in. Shikamaru did as he was told. Asuma murmured something into his ear before closing his eyes as the ashes from his cigarette fell onto his chest and was extinguished by the pouring rain. Choji and Ino cried over his immobile body. Shikamaru stood up and took a few steps away as he turned on Asuma's lighter. He looked at the flame before complaining that the smoke from Asuma's cigarette was stinging his eyes. He closed his eyes and started crying. Yuki looked at Asuma's body, then at her hands that were now covered in his blood. The rain started washing away the blood. However, she kept on seeing it. She felt like the only way to not see it again was for her to resurrect him. She moved towards Asuma once again, forming the seals.

"Yuki, don't you dare." Shikamaru said, his back still turned towards her. "Asuma... Asuma wouldn't want it."

"I can do something about it." Yuki told him as she was in tears. "I was helpless when the Third died. Asuma is my adoptive uncle. I can't watch another family member die."

"Don't you know who his King is?"

Yuki stopped herself from moving any further. She knew his King was no different than hers. Even if they differed, they wanted to protect something precious to them. She pulled her hands away as she stood up.

"He died protecting that King. Don't make him feel like he failed." Shikamaru told her as he walked over and stored the lighter away. "Let's bring him back home."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 49**

* * *

Thank you for reading.

I hope you are enjoying it so far.

xox

Krystal


	51. Chapter 50: Back to the Start

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 50: Back to the Start**

* * *

 **T** he news spread quickly throughout the village and to all the shinobis that were on their mission to come back if possible as Asuma had passed away and they were going to hold his funeral within the next few days. Even Naruto and Kakashi, who were isolated nearby the village to train, quickly came back into the village to send off their mentor and friend. Just like the day the Third Hokage had passed away, the village became quiet as everyone kept silence in honor of a shinobi who risked his life for its future.

Yuki pulled out her black dress from the wardrobe that morning. She unwillingly slipped it on. She looked at herself in the mirror as she tightened the white headband around her head. She turned off the lights in her house as she left the apartment with heavy footsteps. On her way to the funeral, she picked up Konohamaru who, now, had lost his grandfather and his uncle within the short amount of three years. He cried uncontrollably the whole way. She held his hand the whole way, needing to be comforted herself. She was the only family he had left.

"Yuki-neechan..." He barely managed to say as he was sniffling. "What am I going to do now?"

"Konohamaru..." Yuki started. "I'm always going to be here for you. I promise you that. I won't leave without a goodbye."

She hugged him tightly as they were about to enter the cemetery. He hugged her back, unwilling to look in direction of the funeral. Naruto arrived at that moment. He patted Konohamaru's head. Kakashi was with him. He looked at Yuki whose eyes were red from crying all night. As Naruto took over for Yuki and walked Konohamaru in, Kakashi whispered to Yuki:

"You do come here too often for your age."

She didn't respond. She knew that Kakashi was trying to lighten up the mood for her, but she wasn't able to smile at that moment. She stood at the entrance of the cemetery for a while after the others started going in. She couldn't gather enough courage to step inside herself. As she was about to turn around and walk away, someone grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.

"If you leave now, you'll just come back here crying in a few days." He told her. "I know you well enough now."

She took a few steps forward to stand next to him. She looked at him. They hadn't spoken in a while. He became blurry as her eyes filled up with tears again as if the lock she put in her heart and brain to prevent her from breaking down in front of Konohamaru had just been opened from those few words. Her lips trembled. She tried to speak to him as everyone lined up to put a flower on Asuma's tomb:

"I've been meaning to talk to you..."

"You don't have to try to distract yourself right now." He replied. "We can talk whenever. Don't try to walk away from your emotions."

He wasn't wrong yet again. However, she didn't mind being told off.

"I'm sorry you always have to see me in such a state, Neji."

"And in this place." He added.

She had forgotten how caring and how good with his words he was. It was perhaps because he did know her so well that everything came with ease for him when talking to her. She found herself only comforted by Neji since the Third passed away. As he climbed up the stairs to put his flower down on Asuma's tomb, Yuki's eyes followed him intensely. Looking at him gave her the strength to climb up the stairs and put down her flower as a send-off to Asuma. As her pinky lingered a little longer on his tomb, she promised him to look after the King he wanted to protect so badly. She then glanced over to Kurenai whose right hand was on her belly and her other wiping away the infinite amount of tears that kept falling down. Yuki couldn't imagine having to say goodbye to the father of your own baby before it was even born. As she thought about that, her heart started wrenching for Kurenai. The pain she felt for Kurenai went throughout her body. Her legs weakened as she climbed down the stairs. She stumbled and almost fell from the lack of balance and the blurry vision she was experiencing. Neji caught her at the right time and walked her out. They sat down at a bench just outside the cemetery.

"Shikamaru didn't come today." Neji said.

"I can understand him."

"I knew you would. You did the same three years ago."

"It's hard to accept someone's death, especially when that person meant a lot to you."

"It's part of being a shinobi though. You'll have to see death constantly along your way. It's not something you can avoid."

"Despite knowing that, it's hard."

"If it's that hard, you should talk to someone about it. Keeping it in and trying to deal with it by yourself make it even harder."

"I... I don't like being vulnerable in front of people."

"I've seen it enough of times now. Just come to me." He said casually.

He stopped himself at those words. They came out so easily. He could feel his cheeks heating up. He was hoping they hadn't turned red. Flustered and not wanting Yuki to know, he quickly changed topic back to Shikamaru:

"I bet Shikamaru feels that way right now too."

Yuki nodded as she was still looking at her feet. She hadn't noticed anything. Her mind felt blank at that moment. Usually, she would have caught on to any changes in reactions in people, but that day, her brain didn't want to think. It wanted to be left alone. They sat there quiet for a bit, Neji staring at the sky and Yuki staring at the ground. The ground now looked wet as tears kept dropping down into it. As people started to leave the cemetery, they remained there. Neji noticed people looking at them and wondering if they should come talk to them. He knew she didn't want to talk that day with anyone. He turned himself in a way that no one could see her. It was the only thing he thought he could do for her at that moment.

Before they knew it, it was already nighttime. The moon was quite bright that night. Yuki finally looked up to the sky instead of her feet. She took a few deep breaths and turned towards Neji who had his back towards her to shield from people's looks as he rested his head against his hand.

"Thank you." She said.

He stretched himself and turned towards her. He smiled at her.

"You look terrible." He told her.

"You always see me at my worst."

"If this is your worst than it isn't so bad." He teased her.

She smiled and replied:

"I feel bad that we always seem to have our best talks here."

"There's a way to perceive this positively. Every death has allowed us to become closer. Never mind, that didn't sound good."

"How about linked by death?" Yuki asked jokingly.

"No, anything involving that word doesn't sound right."

"Jokes aside, Neji... Thank you for always being here during these times for me. I really don't know what it is about you, but it's really comforting to have you around. Thank you." Yuki said as she stood and looked into his eyes.

He was quite flustered at those words. He could feel himself blushing once again. He was grateful it was nighttime at that colors were washed out by the darkness. He looked back into her eyes though. He was mesmerized by them. They were glistening with life once again. They were the perfect surface for the bright moon to reflect off of. He then quickly looked away as he felt embarrassed for staring into them so intensely.

"It's getting late. I'll walk you home." He then told her as he stood up as well.

"Eh? You don't have to. You know I can take care of myself."

"There was someone lurking around your place the other night though."

"How did you know that?" She asked as she raised her eyebrow at him.

"Uh... I just happened to walk by."

Yuki chuckled. She then looked at him and smiled and explained:

"It was just Sai."

"He was the ANBU who took you away from Sunagakure during the attack, right? I recognized his chakra."

Yuki nodded as they started walking back to her place.

"Is there..." Neji started asking. "Actually, nevermind..."

"What? You're not the type to beat around the bush. What did you want to ask?"

"I... Is there something between the two of you?" He then asked as he stopped walking. "I didn't mean to watch or anything, but..."

"That... That was nothing." She said as she stopped walking as well.

"I know that look he had in his eyes when you left wasn't nothing. To him, at least, you mean something to him. I'm just not sure about you, but I can't help but feel like you do feel something towards him as well."

"How would you know that?"

"Because I look at you the same way he did that night... and, unless I'm really blind, I feel like you feel like... I'm maybe more than just a comrade or a friend to you."

"I... Today is not a good day to talk after all." Yuki said. "Sorry Neji, I'm not really in the mood to talk still after all. I'll see you around."

She vanished as she began walking towards her place once again. Neji stood there. He usually would've felt defeated. However, he understood. He knew her well enough to know that this was all new to her. She wasn't like other girls who fell in and out of love. She had to be taught how to it was to fall in love first. She knew a lot of things in life, but when it came to her own emotions, she still had a lot to learn. He was willing to be patient and to wait for her. He waited for her all this time. He could wait longer. It wasn't an issue to him. If anything, he felt relieved that he said the things he did today. Perhaps it wasn't the best timing, but it was still said and done. He turned around and started walking back towards his own house while looking at the moon and reminding himself of Yuki's beautiful eyes.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 50**

* * *

Thank you for reading up to this point!

Let me know how you are liking (or disliking) the story so far.

xox

Krystal


	52. Chapter 51: Exceeding Expectations

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 51: Exceeding Expectations**

* * *

 **F** or the next few days, Yuki avoided Neji whenever she could just like how Shikamaru avoided everyone during the same time. She spent her time visiting Hinata and Kiba in the hospital with Shino or visiting Kurenai in her home with Shino. The rest of the time, she spent it in the library trying to learn more about Kakuzu as she still couldn't understand the extent of his abilities. She didn't want to feel helpless once again when she fought him the next time. She was planning that next time. For the first time, she understood Sasuke and his desire for revenge. However, she wanted to seek revenge in a different manner. She wanted to do it with her own strength. She also looked up all the information she could about the Sharingan. As much as she disliked it, she knew that it would provide her with the extra power to defeat strong enemies like Kakuzu and Hidan. She was planning on gathering all the information she could before visiting Shikamaru. She knew he wanted revenge as well. However, he knew that he lacked in the ability to do so himself. It was perhaps the reason why he had isolated himself at home.

A few more days passed by without much more information found that Yuki didn't already know. There was obviously a blank period in Kakuzu's life that no one knew about. Something made him stronger than he used to be despite his age. He disappeared off the surface of the Earth for a while and reappeared with more power than he used to have. Nonetheless, Yuki felt like it was time. If she waited any longer, they would have left the Land of Fire and neither her or Shikamaru would get the chance again to exact their revenge. With her mind set on this idea, she packed up her things and headed over to Shikamaru's place.

She jumped over the gate of the Nara family's backyard. She knew the layout of the place well enough to be able to wander around late at night without much light. She approached the sliding door that led to Shikamaru's bedroom. She was about to open it, but she heard the cries of someone who was in agony. She stopped herself and looked down onto the floor. Perhaps it was too soon. She was about to turn around and leave, but the crying stopped and Shikamaru's voice said:

"I told you to use the door the next time you came here."

"I'm sorry." She replied.

He opened the sliding door and stepped out from the pitched black room. He wiped his eyes.

"I started smoking, you see, but the smoke still stings. I don't know why Asuma liked it so much. It's so troublesome to smoke. You always have to go outside to do so if not the smell gets into your clothes and the smoke gets trapped inside the house and your eyes just water even more from all of it." He said as he pulled out Asuma's lighter and started playing with it. "I've been thinking a lot these past few days."

"So have I."

"So have we." Two more voices added.

Yuki turned around to see that Ino and Choji had also entered Shikamaru's backyard by jumping the fence. Shikamaru sighed, but then smiled. He walked over to them as Choji gave him a light tap on the arm.

"We knew you wouldn't sit around doing anything. I can't believe all of our timing is so perfect." Ino said as she looked at Yuki with a smile before turning her head to Shikamaru. "What's the plan?"

"I knew you guys would come eventually." He replied as put on his shoes. "I'll tell you guys on the way. We probably should get going before they leave the Land of Fire."

"They probably haven't. Knowing Kakuzu's personality, he wouldn't let a bounty head go. He'll stay until he gets his hand on Asuma's body. Therefore, they shouldn't be too far. Hidan also swore to get you next, Shikamaru. He means it." Yuki told them. "However, if we get to them first, we would have the element of surprise... so I don't disagree on leaving now. That is if everyone is ready."

Choji and Ino nodded. Shikamaru looked at Yuki before asking her one thing:

"Promise me one thing, Yuki. Don't exchange your life for any of ours. I can't guarantee we'll all make it alive, but I don't want you to use that jutsu of yours to save any of us. You always tell me that you think all lives are equally important, but you don't treat your life as preciously as others. So please, promise me that one thing before we head out. I know you always keep your word."

"I promise." She quickly responded. "I promise that we will all make it back to the village."

"That's not... Ugh, fine." He said despite not being pleased with her response entirely.

* * *

 **T** hey were now at the village's gate. They glanced back altogether one last time at the village as they weren't sure they would return, except Yuki. She intended to keep that promise she had made. Before they could leave, they were stopped by Tsunade. She angrily walked over and asked:

"What are you all thinking of doing in the middle of the night?"

"Tsunade-sama, we... We are going after Hidan and Kakuzu. We just can't sit still knowing that the murderer of Asuma-sensei is still roaming around freely." Ino said.

"I think that you all forgot who you all are." Tsunade replied. "Especially you, Yuki. I guess the freedom of going anywhere you want at whatever time you want has still not left your body."

"I didn't forget. The mission you gave us previously wasn't over yet. Therefore, with the same people, with me as the new team leader, I thought..."

"Don't try to talk your way out of this. Asuma just died. I can't let you guys go and risk your life like this. The mission has been aborted."

"What if I went with them, Tsunade-sama?" A familiar voice said. "I don't think anything you say right now is going to change their minds. However, you would feel comforted if I went with them, right?"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Choji said, relieved.

"Senpai, you are early for once." Yuki said as she walked over to him with a smile.

"Kakashi, Yuki... you seemed to have planned this." Tsunade said as she bit her lip.

"Not that I didn't believe in our abilities, but I thought it would be safer to have another team as our backup. I didn't expect Kakashi-senpai to join us now though since I assumed he would still be training Naruto." Yuki explained. "I only sent him a note saying we were heading off to complete the mission we were initially assigned."

Tsunade sighed again and again. She knew nothing she said would change their minds at this point. Kakashi was right about that. She bit her lip before turning her back to them and saying:

"Just, all of you, please, come back alive."

She walked away as they exchanged looks of reassurance to each other before heading out as well. The sun was now rising after many rainy days as if it was wishing them luck.

* * *

 **O** n their way, Shikamaru explained every detail of his plan to Kakashi, including parts that involved Kakashi despite his recent addition to the team. Yuki couldn't help but be impressed at his clever mind. She knew he was smart as Asuma often praised Shikamaru in front of her and the others, but she didn't realize how far ahead he thought and how flexible he was able to be in planning. Kakashi was also seemingly impressed. He fought alongside many intelligent individual, but Shikamaru, at his age, was far more impressive than many.

"Yuki." Shikamaru started. "That Kakuzu... Did you find out some more about his abilities?"

"I went through everything that we had in the village about him, but everything about him is dated. Since he defected from Takigakure, there was nothing on paper about him. He used to be an Earth chakra type only from what I know, even during his prime in the village. Somehow, within a few years, he can use all elements. Further more, he uses them with such prowess. Another thing I found out, however, is that he stole many forbidden scrolls from his former village. If only we knew the content of those scrolls, then we would be able to understand him better. Based on his data, he should be an old man right now. He probably has some kind of jutsu that allowed him to remain as young as he is right now." She told everyone.

"I think we are about to find out more about him." Ino said. "I found them."

They proceeded with their plan. As Kakashi succeeded in striking Kakuzu in the heart with his lightning cutter, they thought that half the battle was already won. As Shikamaru turned towards Hidan to fight him next, to everybody's horror, Kakuzu started moving. He kicked Kakashi back to which Yuki responded by leaving her hiding spot to catch him before he would hit the rock behind him. It was indeed a horror scene as Kakuzu's back split open and four masked monsters came out of him. His back reattached itself with the strings that he used similarly to reattach Hidan's head to his body. Yuki bit her lip as she had began healing Kakashi. Shikamaru headed over as Kakashi handed him a vial secretly.

"You were right Yuki. He is full of secrets." Shikamaru said.

As the scene unfolded right in front of them where the masked monsters flew around, ready to wreck terror, one of them cracked and melted onto the ground. Hidan's jaw dropped and started yelling at Kakuzu:

"OI! What the hell is wrong with that one?"

On their side, Shikamaru and Yuki figured it was probably what Kakashi struck at the beginning of the fight. It also meant that they had to defeat Kakuzu four more times before they could claim victory.

"Worry about yourself, Hidan. You got trapped again in that kid's shadow." Kakuzu replied to Hidan's remark.

"He sneaked up on me."

"Same."

Shikamaru started losing control of Hidan at that moment. He was running out of chakra. It wasn't surprising as he had already been holding him still for a long time. Hidan could sense that the grip was loosening. He looked at Shikamaru, ready to attack him. As the shadow that held him finally disconnected, Hidan quickly charged towards them. Kakashi jumped forward and started fighting Hidan. As usual, Hidan's movements were wide, lacking in precision, but knowing his powers, had to be avoided at all cost. Meanwhile, Ino and Choji had started going forward towards Kakuzu as he was still recovering from the loss of one of his "lives". His monsters, however, came forth and fought them instead. They did a fair job until a huge gust of wind pushed them all back as Kakuzu added lightning to the mix. Shikamaru caught Ino in her flight as Choji managed to stand on his two feet thanks to his strength. However, the bolts of lightning were also heading towards them in such manner that if struck, they would surely be closer to death than life. Yuki came forth and used her own lightning jutsu to redirect the lightning towards the sky allowing Shikamaru and Choji enough time to move Ino away to a safe spot. As she knew she was cleared to move now, she flashed herself to where Shikamaru was. The moment she arrived, she saw that Kakashi was now attacked by both Kakuzu and Hidan.

"We need to separate them." Shikamaru told her. "I'll take Hidan."

"By yourself?"

"Don't underestimate me."

"I'm not." Yuki replied as she healed Ino's external wounds. "I just thought you would bring Choji with you or something."

"Choji needs to stay here and watch over Ino. He's also exhausted from the fight. He won't be able to assist Kakashi properly. Only you can do that." He answered as he looked at Choji who was about to say that he wanted to join Shikamaru.

"Fine. I'm guessing you'll need a distraction to hold down Hidan with your shadow."

"Bingo."

Yuki flashed herself to Kakashi. As she appeared, she pushed both Hidan and Kakuzu back with a water jutsu before whispering the plan to Kakashi. She pulled out her katana and started tempting Hidan who followed her to where she wanted him to be. As soon as he stepped foot in that area, he was once again restrained by Shikamaru's shadow.

"DAMN IT!" Hidan yelled out of anger.

Shikamaru made him drop his scythe as he rushed off elsewhere with him. Kakuzu was now standing by himself, backed up by his remaining three monsters, right in front of Yuki. He looked at Hidan and Shikamaru leaving the scene. He chuckled.

"Are you sure he's going to be fine by himself? Hidan is not as weak as he seems."

"He's just as dumb as he seems though." Yuki replied. "No one can defeat Shikamaru's brain."

"I think you have too much confidence in that kid." He told her.

"And you have too much confidence in yourself."

"Watch what you are saying, kiddo. I used to fight your first Hokage. I have the rights to believe in my abilities."

"However, the next generation will always surpass us." Kakashi said as he approached the two of them. "Perhaps you've lived too long and forgot to believe in the future."

Kakuzu grinned and proceeded in attacking both Kakashi and Yuki. The fight kept going on. Eventually both parties were seemingly tired. However, the monsters that had emerged from Kakuzu were unaffected by the long drawn out battle. During the one second that Kakashi was distracted, Kakuzu grabbed a hold of him and immobilized him with his weird grey strings. Yuki tried to rush over, but the monsters were now attacking Choji and Ino as they were defenseless. In that instance, she closed her eyes and flashed herself to Choji and Ino instead of Kakashi while apologizing to her senior in her head and begging for time to slow down so that she could make it in time to save everyone. The fireballs from one of the monsters kept coming. Yuki decided to create a thick ice wall that could delay the attack for a bit longer. She grabbed onto the two of them and flashed them to a safer area, far away from the battle. She returned next to Kakashi only to find out that Kakuzu was now clenching his chest in pain asking what had happened. This meant that Shikamaru had succeeded in tricking Hidan.

"I told you that he couldn't be defeated." Yuki told Kakuzu before taking Kakashi away.

"Don't call it a victory yet, kid." Kakuzu warned her. "But you were right. He'll have a hefty bounty on his head eventually."

"I don't call it a victory until I finished everything cleanly." Yuki replied. "And we are not things to be given a price on."

As she said those words, she blinked and her sharingan revealed itself. She managed to dodge every attack that was sent her way. Kakuzu was taken aback as he was unaware she had those eyes. He went all out as he tried to strike her.

"I said that kid would be worth a hefty amount of money, but you would be worth a lot more with those eyes." Kakuzu said. "You keep surprising me, kid."

She smirked and she attacked one of the monster with both her speed and her water jutsu to strike the monster that seemingly was of fire elemental chakra. She tried heading off towards the one that kept blasting wind at them with her strongest fire jutsu, but she was ultimately kicked away strongly by Kakuzu who recovered from his injury. He had used the lightning monster as his heart this time, replacing his original one. Yuki went flying and hit a tree so hard that the tree itself snapped in half. She spat out blood as she tried to get up. She wiped the blood away as she managed to stand up.

"You are being careless now. It's unlike you to be so." He said. "There are still two more hearts for you to fight and yet you wasted it all on one."

"That's because I know I won't be fighting alone much longer. Someone even more reckless is coming."

As she said those words, a large amount of chakra infused with wind nature went flying past her and caused a large explosion that Kakuzu barely managed to dodge.

"So, he managed to master it after all." Kakashi said to Yamato who had arrived on scene.

"Yes. There are still a few hiccups, but for the most part, he's got it." Yamato said. "Where are Shikamaru, Ino and Choji?"

"Ino and Choji are about 100 feet away recovering from their injuries, at two o'clock. Shikamaru went into the forest with Hidan." Yuki explained as she summoned her trusted tracking rabbit and walked over.

"Sai, Sakura. Go along with... eh..."

"This friend of mine is called Kiku. She'll lead you to them."

"You need to be healed too." Sakura said as she noticed Yuki was still coughing up blood.

Yuki smiled and said:

"I will heal myself and enjoy the show here. I think Naruto can take care of this. Yamato-senpai is also here. I can definitely take a rest."

Sakura nodded and headed off with Sai who looked at her, still worried about her well-being. He didn't say anything though as he knew she wouldn't take no or any negotiation for an answer.

"You are too easy-going." Yamato said. "Like I said, there are still a few hiccups..."

"There are still a few hiccups with these eyes, yet I've managed, haven't I?" Yuki said as she blinked again, allowing for her sharingan to go dormant.

Kakashi made his way over as Naruto was eager to show him what he could do now. He asked to fight Kakuzu on his own. Kakashi didn't refuse. He, too, was exhausted from the fight. As Naruto, once again, formed what he called a Rasenshurinken, Kakashi murmured inaudibly:

"Minato-sensei..."

Yuki sat there in awe of what Naruto had managed to achieve within the last few days. As he threw it at Kakuzu, it was blocked by the remaining masked monster. However, as it cut through, it went for Kakuzu. He had the time to jump away from it. Yuki threw her kunai towards the Rasenshurinken, flashed herself right behind Kakuzu who was marked during their fight and grabbed onto him. Yuki then flashed herself to her kunai allowing the Rasenshurinken to hit Kakuzu directly as she teleported herself back to where the remaining people were to avoid damage.

"That was dangerous, Yuki." Yamato scolded her.

"Unharmed, though."

"Yuki! That was awesome! I thought I had missed him, but you made it happen!"

"I should compliment you on that Rasenshurinken. That was impressive."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed by the compliment. Kakashi walked over to Kakuzu. He pulled out his kunai and told him before stabbing him in the heart:

"I've told you. You've lived for too long. You are no match for the new generation now."

Kakuzu was now dead. He was now a relic of the past as he should have been a long time ago. Shikamaru, Sakura and Sai joined up with them as they were done on their side as well. Shikamaru looked at Yuki and smiled. He was relieved that they were all alive and well for the most part. Sakura quickly rushed over to Yuki and began healing her. Yuki stopped her, urging her to go over to Ino instead as she seemed badly hurt from the gust of wind that Kakuzu had sent towards them initially. She and Sai rushed off first in direction of the remaining two. The others followed at a slower pace. As Yuki was injured and was walking slower, Shikamaru reduced his pace to keep her company. He then bent down and told her:

"This is going to be a drag if you walk this slowly. Just jump onto my back."

"It's going to be a drag for you to carry me." She replied.

"Just get on."

She knew her limit. She didn't want to slow the team down either. She did as she was asked. As they walked, Shikamaru said:

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For making sure everybody would live through this."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 51**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter!

xox

Krystal


	53. Chapter 52: Friends

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 52: Friends**

* * *

 **W** ith most of the people recovering at the hospital, the next few days, it became their meeting place. Yuki insisted however on recovering at home as she was trying to avoid Neji and Sai. She would try to visit the others at odd times in order to not run into anybody. Sakura would come over to her house and check on her without the others knowing. Before they knew it, they became close friends. The Sakura that Yuki remembered as being too prim and proper, too spoiled became much more down to earth and independent. She was much easier to talk to. She didn't hold on to certain ideas like she used to. She gave good insight while listening to what others had to say.

"You've recovered quite a lot, but I still think it would have been better if you rested at the hospital." She said. "There are a lot of damages that can't be seen by the eye."

"I've told you why I can't stay there, though."

"Who would have thought you would have such boy problems?" Sakura said jokingly as she packed up her medical tools. "So who do you like? I'll break the news to the other one."

"Eh? What do you mean? I... I haven't given it much thought."

"Really? I think you did though. Just follow your heart. Know that they are both good people. They'll be happy for you regardless of your decision."

Yuki sighed as dropped her sleeve back down over the bandaged wound Sakura had just looked at. She really didn't know what to do. She wasn't even sure if she liked any of them. That was perhaps a lie she was telling herself. She did feel something for the both of them, but the feeling differed. She didn't know who she cared for as a friend and who she loved. She sighed again before asking Sakura:

"How do you feel about Naruto?"

"Eh?" Sakura said, taken aback. "He's... He used to be so annoying, but now... Now, I truly look up to him. I've grown to care for him. I want him to do well, I want him to achieve his dreams. I only wish him the best."

"What about..."

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Sorry... I know..."

"No, that's fine. As for Sasuke-kun... It's hard to explain. There's a lot that resent him for, but I can't help, but care for him as well. I know it's not something that everyone can understand, but I still love him despite all that has happened. Wouldn't you say that is true love, though?"

"Who knows... Shouldn't love be mutual though?"

"It's probably best that way."

Sakura looked down and pondered for a while. Yuki could tell that she loved Sasuke a lot. She was grateful that both Naruto and Sakura still cared about Sasuke that much. Meanwhile, Yuki knew that, towards Sasuke, she felt nothing. She saw him as a rogue ninja that simply had to be brought back to the village. She felt sorry towards Itachi more so than towards Sasuke. She believed he took his own decisions and that he decided to walk that path despite having so many people believe in him. There was nothing else to be done.

"I'm heading back to the hospital then." Sakura told Yuki. "You could come with me if you want. I'll deter them from talking to you about whatever it is that you don't want to talk about."

Yuki smiled and nodded. She slipped on her shoes and headed out with Sakura. The sun was shining bright that day. They stopped by a few places before going to the hospital. They went into Ino's flower shop. Yuki picked on two bouquets of daisies. She wanted to bring them the Third's and Asuma's tombs before heading to the hospital. Heading into the cemetery to visit the Third and Asuma, they ran into Shikamaru who was leaving.

"I'll keep her company if you want to leave to the hospital." He told Sakura. "I heard that Naruto was throwing a fit because Kakashi-sensei isn't recovering as fast as he did."

"Ugh, that Naruto..." Sakura said as she rushed off in direction of the hospital.

"Neji and Sai are also at the hospital." Shikamaru then told Yuki.

"How do you know about them?" Yuki asked him as they walked towards the Third's tombstone.

"I'm just that observant. Why are you going through all this trouble just to avoid them?"

"What am I supposed to say when I see them, then?"

"Just be mean and say that you don't like them in that way? Unless you do, of course, now that's a different story."

She glared at him as he chuckled. She placed the first bouquet on the Third's gravestone and closed her eyes as to pay her respect to him. She and Shikamaru then headed over to Asuma's grave. There were fresh flowers there for him already. She added her bouquet to them.

"Kurenai-sensei comes everyday to clean up his gravestone." Shikamaru told her. "She said she wanted the baby to be as close as her father as possible despite the infinite distance that now separates them. She's doing well though. The baby is doing well too."

"What about you? How are you doing?"

"I'm doing just fine." Shikamaru said as he pulled out a cigarette.

"You took up his bad habits though."

"It helps me think, maybe that's why he smoked so much." He replied as he lit it up.

He took a puff out of it then left it on Asuma's gravestone. Shikamaru wasn't a smoker. He just felt the need to do something to help him connect to Asuma once again. It made him feel as though Asuma was still around. Yuki could understand that. She said no more about his smoking habit afterwards. They stood there in silence for a bit before deciding to head out. Yuki was hesitant to visit the hospital. Shikamaru didn't try to push her into going there. Instead, he suggested for them to play a game of shogi. Yuki agreed.

"Please leave out the door this time when we are done."

"I don't want to wake your parents up if we end too late again."

"I guess I'll just have to make sure I win quickly." He then said as they sat down and started placing the pieces.

Yuki always learned fast. She was enough of a challenge for Shikamaru to have to scratch his head at times. They shared laughter, wisdom for the next few hour as they played. Slowly, it became a habit of theirs to play shogi after missions, before missions and during any of their free time. They talked about everything to each other. Before she knew it, she could call Shikamaru her best friend. It was perhaps the fact that they both acted like they were much older than their actual age, but they found each other easy to relate to.

* * *

 **I** t was now a few days after Yuki found out that the Two-tailed beast from Kumogakure had been sealed, meaning that Yugito Nii had passed away. Although she wasn't personally very closed to Yugito, during her time in Kumogakure, she was always friendly to Yuki, giving her tips whenever she struggled with expanding her chakra reserves. She was sitting, that day again, in Shikamaru's backyard, playing shogi with him. He noticed a difference in the way that she was playing.

"Did something happen?"

"Tsunade-sama just told me that she got a report saying that Yugito Nii from Kumogakure had just been killed by the Akatsuki."

"Were you close to that person?"

"Enough for me to feel something because of her death."

"A friend?"

"More like a mentor."

"I never asked you, but how was it... living in Kumogakure?"

"It was nice. The people were really nice. It was simple living there. Things weren't complicated. It could have been because I didn't have any responsibilities there. I had so much freedom. I did what I wanted. I wasn't aware of much."

"Knowledge is a troublesome. But ignorance is just as troublesome."

"When I found out about certain things, I felt guilty for not doing anything when I could have."

"See. Everything is such a drag." Shikamaru said as he played the winning move. "But everything is for a reason. You lost again."

"I can't think of a good justification for death though."

"There's one. If your death serves the purpose of protecting your king, I think it's fair to say that it had to happen." Shikamaru said as he grabbed the king on the shogi board.

"What if you die thinking you did protect the king, but, in reality, you failed to do so?" Yuki asked him.

"At the very least, you died trying protect what you believed in."

Their conversation was interrupted by Shikamaru's father's coughs. He had just returned home. He smiled at Yuki and told her:

"I knew you would be here. I told Tsunade-sama I would pass the message on to you. She wants you in her office as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Shikaku-san. I'll head over now." Yuki said as she stood up and waved a silent goodbye to Shikamaru before teleporting herself to the Hokage's office.

* * *

"Yuki, use the door next time!" Tsunade scolded her as soon as she appeared in the office.

Yuki scratched the back of her head and smiled awkwardly as it did indeed become a bad habit of hers. She picked up this bad habit while she was in Kumogakure. She learned from none other than their current Raikage. Whenever he was in a rush, he would just create a hole in the wall to enter or exit a place. Yuki, at least, had more respect for her environment. She looked around and saw that Jiraiya was also present in the room. They hadn't seen each other since Yuki healed his injury during his trip with Naruto. She looked at him with a smile before greeting him:

"Jiraiya-sama, it's been a while."

"It has been. Yuki, you've grown so much." He replied in a fatherly tone.

"Let's cut to the chase." Tsunade interrupted their reunion.

"We should indeed." Jiraiya said. "Yuki, Orochimaru is dead. Sasuke killed him."

"Guessing from your tone, Sasuke isn't coming back to the village despite that, right?" Yuki asked.

Jiraiya nodded as Tsunade sighed. They had hoped that Sasuke, once he gained enough power, would return to the village. Naruto made them believe so, despite everything that had unfolded in front of them. Yuki clenched her fists before saying:

"He's going after Itachi then. Let me go find them both, Tsunade-sama. I know Itachi best out of any shinobi in the village, at the exception of Kakashi-senpai, perhaps. I can find him, find Sasuke and end this..."

"Naruto wouldn't let you kill him." Jiraiya said.

"I didn't say I would..."

"How would you end it though?" Tsunade asked. "By reasoning with him? By helping him kill Itachi to avenge his clan?"

"I would only harm him as a last resort." Yuki replied as she looked down to floor, realizing she hadn't thought it through like she believed she did.

Tsunade wasn't wrong. Yuki had no idea what to do with Sasuke if she ran into him once again. She only believed he was a lost cause. However, she didn't have the guts nor the will to kill him, because of her promise with Itachi. She couldn't tell them about Itachi either. There was no way she would hurt Itachi. If she had to pick someone between Sasuke and Itachi to save, she would save Itachi. However, it would go against his own will as he, from what she knew, would do anything to keep his little brother alive.

"That's not the only issue we have." Tsunade added. "I just got a report from Shizune that they were unable to seal the Three-tailed Beast."

"Then, the Akatsuki..."

"We don't know that yet, but we are guessing it's only a matter of time." Jiraiya replied. "They are clearly going in order of numbers of tails though, meaning Naruto should also be safe for the time being. However, we need to prepare ourselves for when they do come after him. You know that the Akatsuki are filled with incredibly strong shinobis. With Naruto's current abilities, he might not be able to defend himself against them. Furthermore, if they do attack, everybody else will be endangered as they will be forced to fight against them. Actually, it is wrong to say _forced_. Knowing you guys, you will all jump forward to protect each other. I'm not saying you guys aren't strong, but you can't fight and protect at the same time. That's like asking for your own death."

"So what you are saying is that I should focus on becoming stronger rather than try to find Sasuke and Itachi." Yuki said as she felt like Jiraiya was starting to beat around the bush.

He then asked her to summon Kiku, the rabbit that had always been by her side when she needed help. She didn't understand where he was getting at, but obeyed anyways.

"Have you heard of Senjutsu, Yuki?" Tsunade asked her.

"I've read about it. It's about gathering nature's energy and transforming it into chakra, right?"

"Exactly. Only a few people in this world are able to use it."

"We were saying how the sharingan you have uses up a lot of your chakra and, despite managing to expand your chakra reserves, you still cannot maintain it for a long time on top of performing other techniques that are just as costly in chakra." Tsunade told her.

"If you train in Senjutsu, you can enter this state called the Sage Mode. In a sense, it allows you to have an infinite amount of chakra." Jiraiya explained. "Of course, there are things that prevent you from having unlimited chakra such as movement for example."

"That's why you need a friend like me by your side when you enter the Sage Mode." Kiku said as she jumped onto Yuki's shoulder. "Jiraiya-sama, I'll teach her everything about it."

"Wait a minute." Yuki said as Kiku was about to take her somewhere. "I understand that you both want me to learn senjutsu. However, there are much more urgent things right now. Like you said, we have time until we have to face the Akatsuki head on, right? Naruto and the rest of them aren't in immediate danger. Why now? I really think I should be looking for Itachi and Sasuke first, then start this training once that is settled."

"Do you think Naruto will sit still once he hears of Orochimaru's death?" Tsunade asked. "Do you think, if the opportunity presents to them, that the Akatsuki wouldn't capture Naruto regardless of their progress on the Tailed Beast? Who will protect him? His friends? Or should I say your friends?"

"I..." Yuki started.

"You don't have the strength to protect them right now, Yuki. They'll be back in about three days."

"So I've got three days to master this." Yuki said. "Like you said, Naruto won't sit still once he catches wind of the news."

"I like your confidence."

"Kiku, let's go." Yuki told her.

They disappeared. Yuki was more eager than ever to become stronger. Tsunade wasn't wrong. With her current abilities, all she could do was sacrifice herself for the sake of her friends. However, sacrifices meant nothing if they don't actually serve a purpose. It was what Yuki believed in. She had told Shikamaru that she believed death served no purpose, that she didn't see how death could be justified. She had to show him now that she will fight to live and to protect her king. Three days weren't a lot of time, but she knew she could do it, because this wasn't just for her. It was for her friends and loved ones.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 52**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter.

I really wanted Yuki to feel like she belonged with the Konoha 11. Hopefully this chapter shows that.

xox

Krystal


	54. Chapter 53: Time to Leave

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 53: Time to leave**

* * *

 **I** t wasn't that Yuki was unable to grasp the concept properly. It was the fact that she had three days to be able to master senjutsu. Her normally calm composure couldn't be maintained, because her mind kept thinking about other things. It was a lot harder than she had anticipated it to be. Sometimes, she would even turn part rabbit because of her lack of focus. Nonetheless, she did make quite a bit of progress of her first day.

"Yuki, you are already progressing a lot quicker than most people that have trained in this art." Kiku told her. "You don't have to..."

"Kiku-san... There are things that I cannot say that I need to do before it's too late. Call it an instinct, but I just know if I don't make it in three days, I'm going to regret it." Yuki said as she took a sip of water. "Let's get back to it."

By the end of day two, Yuki finally managed to gather the nature energy on her own, staying still. However, it would only last for three minutes as soon as she moved. It was one of the disadvantages of relying on the sage mode. She, now, had to learn how to be in sync with Kiku who could fit in her palm so that during fights, Kiku would be gathering the sage energy for Yuki. Despite usually getting along, this was a complete new experience. Not only did they have to be in sync chakra level wise, but they also had to synchronize their heartbeat and their breathing perfectly. Progressing, but slower than anticipated, Yuki slowly started feeling rushed again despite managing for the last two days to maintain her composure.

"I keep hearing the clock ticking inside my head." She told Kiku.

"You're going to have to ignore it." Kiku said. "Focus on the task at hand."

"I'm trying... It's not that easy, you know that." Yuki replied, slightly irritated.

They immediately got back into it. Slowly, they managed to extend the period of time that Yuki stayed in the sage mode. Yuki wasn't completely immune to physical changes that occurred when entering the sage mode. Her eyes turned red, which wasn't really different to when she used her sharingan. Her eyelashes turned white, matching with her hair, looking like they were frosted. Her hair also grew longer. It almost touched the floor. It made it look like she was wearing a cape. It wasn't an ugly sight.

Day three came to an end. Exhausted, Yuki and Kiku both laid on the grass, looking up to the sky where the stars were shining brightly and the moon was even brighter. It wasn't supposed to be a full moon that night, but where they were, it was always a full moon night.

"I'm late." Yuki said.

"But you finally did it. Rest and leave tomorrow morning."

"I should probably leave now."

"I'll take you back tomorrow morning." Kiku replied. "Tell me. Why is it that you must rush to Itachi and Sasuke?"

"Promise not to tell anyone?" Yuki asked. "And promise to take me back right after?"

"Sure." Kiku said hesitantly.

"Itachi... He's simply misunderstood. Sasuke will most likely fight him until death and Itachi will simply let it happen. Everything he does is for Sasuke's sake. Yet, no one is to know about it. I simply figured it out because I knew Itachi well enough. I want to stop him from dying. I can't..."

"Gotcha." Kiku simply said. "Let's send you back before it's too late."

With those words, Yuki was now in the middle of the forest outside of Konohagakure. She closed her eyes and began gathering chakra to enter her sage mode. It would allow for her to sense chakra better than her normal sensory skills. She could locate Itachi much quicker in this manner. She sensed it after a little while. There was no mistake possible. She quickly made her way there. He was seemingly by himself. As she approached the location, she saw two towers coming out of the mountain. If she wasn't mistaken, it was the infamous Uchiha hideout she had read about. It truly was in the middle of nowhere, looking like it was deserted for centuries as the vines climbed the towers and intertwined with one another. She took her time to get inside as she was uncertain of what to say to Itachi. She didn't know what it was that he was planning. She only knew that he didn't fear death nor being cursed at by the whole entire world. He could bear everything on his own.

She made her way to the main room. Itachi was sitting on what looked like a throne. He looked at her as she bit her lip, still unsure of what to say. It had been a while since she last saw him. The feelings of kinship remained. She wasn't certain how he felt. Perhaps he couldn't even recognize her.

"You found me quickly, Yuki." He then said, confirming that he knew who she was. "I knew if people were to start looking for me, you would be the first one to find me."

"I'm guessing you were waiting for Sasuke?"

"You both, actually." He said. "There are a few things that are easier to share with you."

He stood up and walked over to her. He looked at her in the eyes and asked her:

"How far along are your eyes?"

"The mangekyo awakened when the Third passed away." She told him.

"Have you been using them?"

"No. I've recently started training with them."

"Good. Don't overuse them. They start losing their light after a while."

"You mean... Itachi!" Yuki said as she realized he was slowly losing his sight. "Let me have a look at them!"

"It's too late now." Itachi said as he looked away. "Everything is already pretty much a blur. It's time for me to close my eyes and hand myself over to Sasuke."

Yuki shook her head as her eyes began filling up with tears. Itachi smiled. He was grateful for her trust after all these years. It was the first genuine smile he managed after all this time. He thought he had forgotten.

"I'll finally be able to let down all this weight I've been carrying on my shoulders." He said. "Thank you for coming to see me one last time and thank you for all these years."

"I don't deserve your thank yous. I've let you down. I failed to keep Sasuke in Konoha. I stopped believing in him."

"You did your best. It was meant to happen." He said to comfort her.

"It wasn't my best. Others have done better. Naruto..."

"I just had a talk with him. He's quite something, isn't he? He called Sasuke a brother. He truly treats him like one."

He smiled as he was reminded by Naruto's answer. He then looked at Yuki with a serious face:

"I've entrusted Naruto with Shisui's mangekyo sharingan. He isn't aware of this. If Sasuke ever decides to attack Konohagakure, the sharingan will manifest itself in reaction to my own and he would be ordered to protect the village."

"That's only if Sasuke decides to take your eyes."

"He will. His desire of power will push him to do so. Furthermore, someone will definitely push him to do so."

"Someone?"

"Uchiha Madara. He's still alive. He wants to wage war against the world."

Yuki stood there in shock. Madara was supposed to be dead a long time ago. It made no sense for him to still be alive. Itachi didn't say anymore as he knew he had to give her time to process what she had just heard. Madara, the only shinobi who could rival the first Hokage, was still alive and wanted to destroy humanity as they knew it. Yuki really didn't know what to make of that. She already felt helpless when she was faced with the dangers of the Akatsuki, adding, now, on top of that Madara. It was a fight they were putting up that was already lost.

"Yuki. Are you scared?" Itachi asked. "It's unlike you to fear such things."

"I don't fear many things, but this is Uchiha Madara who we are talking about, someone who rivaled the one we call the god of shinobi. That God isn't alive anymore. How are we... There are currently many talented shinobis out there, but they aren't ready yet."

"Nor is he. There are a few more things he needs before he can truly wage war against the world. He isn't quite the man he used to be, but he isn't weak either. Just remember one thing, don't let Naruto fall into his hands."

"I figured that much. The Uchihas are known for their ability to control the tailed beast. Now that I know who is behind all of this, it makes sense as to why the Akatsukis were collecting the tailed beast." Yuki said. "If he gained control of all of them, there's really nothing much we could do. Sealing all of them at once isn't exactly an option, is it?"

"As long as Naruto is protected, the world should be fine." Itachi simply replied.

That was the reason why Yuki trained so hard for the past few days. It wasn't just for Itachi or Sasuke. It was for Naruto. It was for this world she grew to love. It was for the people who surrounded her. Hearing those words from Itachi gave her hope once again despite knowing the mountain they had to climb in order to ensure peace in the world.

"Are you going to tell Sasuke everything too?"

"No. I told you. Things are easier explained to you since you already knew so much."

"He deserves to know how great of a man you are."

"He doesn't need to know. It will just make things harder for him. Which reminds me... Don't intervene when he comes. It's a fight that must happen and he must live."

"But you don't have to die." Yuki murmured.

"And don't tell him anything." Itachi continued ignoring her comment. "Also, leave my body there so that they can use my eyes for Sasuke."

"Itachi!"

"He's here" Itachi then said. "Sorry Yuki, I think your time with me is up. I'm going to give my full attention to my younger brother now, for one last time. It's also the only time. I'm such a terrible brother, am I not?"

He walked past her and tap gently on her forehead. He went back to sit on the throne-like chair. Yuki began to cry silently. It was truly a goodbye. Deep inside, she had wished that someday Sasuke would understand Itachi and that he would forgive his older brother. The village would also pardon his crimes and welcome him back. They could be a family once again. It was impossible now that Itachi has chosen death and that, with his death, he brought everything with him to the underworld. With his death, he ensured peace in Konohagakure. She hated the fact that he sacrificed so much for a peace that wouldn't even be long lasting. Her heart was wrenching as she pictured his life throughout the last few years. She never forgot him, but, in the moments of joy she had, she forgot the pain he must had felt constantly.

"You don't have to feel sad for me. I chose this life. I'm going to die feeling fulfilled." He then said. "I don't want you to witness my death though... so please, leave before you have to see anything."

"I..." Yuki began.

She then heard footsteps from the staircase that lead to the room they were in. She quickly turned around with teary eyes and looked at Itachi one last time. She mouthed the word goodbye as no sound could come out of her mouth and disappeared. She had flashed herself outside the Uchiha hideout. She was far enough so that she didn't have to see anything, but close enough so that she remained aware of what was happening. She even closed her eyes as to respect Itachi's final wish of not wanting her to witness his death. She could only hear the loud noises from their fight. From where she was, she could feel the air getting warmer from the flames of their battle. She smelled the smoke coming from the pine trees that were burning down. She felt against her skin the dusts that rose up from the ground. Her fists were clenched tightly and her nails dug deep into her skin and flesh. She felt no pain from that as her heart was feeling an immense amount of pain. She tried enduring it, but she finally had to let out a cry that she stopped quickly as soon as the sound made it out of her throat. Soon enough, she heard nothing else but the sound of a dying fire. His chakra was slowly fading as well. It was time for him to leave already. Now, all she could feel were the warm tears rolling down her cheeks.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 53**

* * *

Thank you reading this story.

Every follow, favorite and review mean so much to me, so thank you a million times for that. Please, do keep them coming!

xox

Krystal


	55. Chapter 54: Innocent Life

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 54: Innocent Life**

* * *

She walked to the ruins of the Uchiha hideout where she saw a collapsed Sasuke with his back leaned against the wall. He was seemingly unconscious. Meanwhile, Itachi was at his feet, face down. Her eyes had ran out of tears at that point. The drawn out battle had finally come to an end with no real winners. Perhaps, it was Itachi who had truly won since he was finally liberated from this miserable life he led. Yuki kneeled down by his body and pushed the hair away from his face. She wanted to see it one last time saying goodbye forever. The rain was pouring at this point, washing off the blood on his face. He was smiling though. Through his death, he managed to protect what was most precious to him. It wasn't just for Sasuke that he sacrificed himself, it was for the village that had now branded him as a criminal. None of that was of any importance to him now. He was free and his face showed it. Yuki smiled at that sight. He was happy in the end. It was that mattered to Yuki too. She knew how much the last few years have crushed his soul. This was the day he had been waiting for.

"You did well." She murmured as she stood up.

She turned towards Sasuke who was still seemingly unconscious. She quickly glanced at his wounds. He was lucky he fought against an Itachi who had no intention to kill. They were mostly external injuries. She could have healed the injuries, but she chose not to. He would live either way. As she began walking away, she was stopped by Sasuke's voice asking:

"Why are you here?"

She did not reply and kept walking. Before she could make it any further, she was stopped by a masked man wearing the Akatsukis' cloak. She assumed he must had been Madara. Instinctively, she flashed herself away from the scene, choosing to not intervene like Itachi had asked her. She assumed Itachi wanted Madara to implant his eyes into Sasuke, therefore allowing Sasuke to become stronger and to be an aid to Konoha. She had to let that be despite hating the idea. She landed by Kakashi's side who, along with Team 8 and his own team, were on the hunt for Sasuke. Seeing the look on her face, Kakashi had pieced together most of the information he needed. Naruto didn't quite understand what was going on. He still believed he had time to get to Sasuke. As he tried to rush forward, Yuki put her hand onto his shoulder as she shook her head.

"It's over now."

"Sasuke…"

"He's fine."

"Then, he's coming back?" Naruto asked as his face brightened up.

"I don't know. He'll have to make that decision eventually. Just not now."

"Let me go talk to him, then."

"He's already gone."

Naruto pushed her away as he went anyway. Kakashi went after him in case something happened. The others followed as Yuki stood there, refusing to go back there where she had already bid her farewell. Seeing him dead once was enough. She didn't need to rub salt onto her wound one more time. Sai had stayed back as it meant nothing to him to chase after someone who had already left. He came in to give her a hug to comfort her, but she took a few steps back and away from him.

"If anybody asks, tell them I'm already back in the village." She said as she flashed herself back to Konohagakure.

* * *

She made it to the gate of the village. There were a few crows flying around. They reminded her of him. They cried out as if they were mourning for his death. She chose to ignore them. She headed straight to Tsunade's office. She knocked on the door this time and waited for permission to enter. Her eyes looked straight ahead, but they weren't really looking at anything. Shizune finally opened the door and told her to come in. Yuki stepped in. The mood in the room was just as somber as she was. Tsunade's chair was turned towards the window.

"You've mastered it?" She asked without turning around.

"Yes."

"Jiraiya… He would have been proud."

"Would have been...?" Yuki began asking as she began to fear the answer Tsunade was about to give her.

Tsunade turned around. Her eyes were bloodshot. She didn't say anything for a bit. Then, tears began rolling down as her lips trembled. What Yuki feared was true. Yuki, who thought she could no longer cry, began tearing up. She looked down to floor as she clenched her fists again. Tsunade stood up and walked over to her and gave her a tight hug as both of them cried. It was too much. This war Itachi talked about had already taken too many lives before even starting. She had had it already. She hated the fact that people kept losing everything that they cherished because of war, a war that had no purpose. As Tsunade managed to compose herself a little better, she let go of Yuki who had remained in the same position the whole entire time.

"What happened?" Yuki managed to ask.

"He went to Amegakure to figure out the Akatsukis' plan and, if possible, take down the organization. He met with their leader…"

"Madara?" Yuki asked.

"Madara?" Tsunade repeated.

"He's the real leader of the Akatsukis." Yuki told her.

"That's news to me. I was told his name was Pain and that he possessed the Rinnegan. There are 6 of them. Each of them has a different power. Ultimately, Jiraiya…"

Yuki nodded as to let Tsunade know she didn't have to say anymore. This whole thing was a lot more complicated than they had anticipated to be. She now understood the importance of becoming stronger for the sake of the village.

"He also left us a code on Fukasaku's back to decipher. It had something to do with Pain's secret." Tsunade told her. "We gave it to Inoichi and the decipher team. If you have time, stop by to assist them if possible."

"I understand. What about his body?"

"It wasn't recovered. Fukusaku barely made it back alive here."

"I see." Yuki simply said as she opened the door to leave.

"Yuki, wait!" Shizune called her. "What about Madara? Where did you…"

"I was told he was the one who actually planned this whole stealing the tailed beast business. As to why, I think we can all assume that he would use them eventually against us thanks to his sharingan. Ah, yes, he's alive." Yuki said quickly as she closed the door behind her not wanting to talk about at the moment.

She leaned against the door for a bit as she heard Tsunade breaking down once again inside the office. While she felt sorry for herself, she realized that she was already much luckier than Tsunade. Tsunade truly lost everybody by her side. The only person she had left was Shizune. That wasn't enough. Yuki knew that well. One person was never enough to substitute all the lives that were lost. She bit down her lip as she silently cursed Madara for starting this whole thing. She truly had had it with fighting, but it wasn't over yet. She knew that well.

* * *

She headed over to the deciphering team's headquarter. There, she ran into Shikamaru before she could make it pass the entrance door. She didn't just _run_ into him, she actually crashed into him. He didn't complain. He figured she would be affected by the news of Jiraiya's death. However, he wasn't aware that she was already distraught by Itachi's death. Adding both news in one day onto her mind was indeed too much.

"They are working in there right now. You don't have to help out. There's plenty of people in there already. Go home. Rest. Once Naruto gets home, we'll be busy again."

"It will crush him." She said. "He was like a father to him."

"You really are bad at handling deaths. It's probably the only you are bad at."

Yuki couldn't even smile at that comment. He noticed. He suggested for them to walk around a bit to help her clear out her mind. She agreed to it as she wanted to be alone, but knew it was best for her to have someone to accompany her.

They walked side by side silently. She couldn't really see what was going on around her. She just kept walking. She wasn't really thinking about anything. She just walked. She was just focusing on walking. Shikamaru was bothered by her current mood. He sighed a few times to see if she would notice, but she didn't. They made it by the Academy. Little kids who dreamed of becoming a shinobi were running around, unaware of the danger that was lurking outside those walls.

"I really want to protect their innocence." Shikamaru said. "Do you remember a time when we could be so carefree?"

"Not really. I can't recall a time where I truly acted like a child." She replied as she looked at the kids playing with each other in the yard of the Academy.

"I used to create so much trouble with Naruto and the others here. We were so innocent. We never thought about the consequences are anything. Heh, that was the life. The only thing I was worried about was getting yelled at by my mom. I would have so much fun and then fear what was waiting for me at home. I guess that's not really possible now. Going home is actually less troublesome then leaving it now."

"I wished I experienced that too." She said.

She wasn't speaking on her behalf only. She meant it for Itachi as well as she knew how he carried everything on his back since a young age. The burden of the Uchiha clan and of Konohagakure was always present in his life. She wished he had the chance to be an innocent child. She wished he had the chance to have no worries. He had to wait until his death to experience that. At that moment, a ball rolled out of the Academy and a kid came out running after it. Yuki picked it up and handed it to the kid.

"Thank you!" The kid said cheerfully. "Do you want play with us?"

She smiled softly and declined, stating that she was busy. The kid smiled back and ran back into the yard. They were so carefree and unafraid of strangers. She, like Shikamaru, wished they could give them such a world where they could remain kids for a long period of time.

"You finally smiled." He said. "He only had to say thank you. I really wasted my words with you."

She walked ahead, keeping the smile on her face. He followed her. She then stopped walking and he bumped into her.

"Why did you…" He began asking her.

"Naruto's back in the village." She said as she sensed his chakra.

"He's probably going to hear about it soon." Shikamaru then said as he looked towards the village's gate. "Things are about to get troublesome from here on."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 54**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter!

Hope you are enjoying it so far!

xox

Krystal


	56. Chapter 55: Reckless Behaviour

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 55: Reckless Behavior**

* * *

Just like Yuki, Naruto was instructed to push further in his training. He had just left with Fukasaku to Mount Myoboku. He was surprisingly calm despite being crushed at the news of Jiraiya's death. He remained strong for the people around him. Yuki admired him for his constant optimism. It wasn't easy for someone like him to be such a cheerful character, yet he managed. Meanwhile, the deciphering team was working without sparing any efforts to find out what Jiraiya was trying to warn them about.

Yuki spent her time training her with Kakashi to help improve her usage of the Sharingan. He was quite impressed at how much she had improved. She was a natural. It was perhaps because they truly belonged to her. As they were training, she had entered her sage mode. It was the first time Kakashi had seen her in that state. He looked at her with a fatherly smile, realizing how far along she had gone. She had surpassed most of her seniors, including himself, at least, that was what he believed. As they were exchanging blows, she realized that there was something off about the surrounding area. As soon as she stopped, she realized someone had broken into the barrier that was set up around the village. She looked at Kakashi and they nodded at each other and headed out in different areas.

Yuki flashed herself to Tsunade's office. Tsunade had just received news that someone had attacked their borders. She rushed to the roof as she instructed everyone to take the civilians to the bunkers. Yuki quickly rushed to the Team 8's members as she was still in charge of them and gave out the instructions and told them to spread the word. As the village began moving the civilians away from danger, the attacks on the village began. Buildings were being destroyed, people began getting killed. Tsunade was sending out Katsuyu to heal and protect the people in the village. One of them attached itself to Yuki, telling her that she would be a messenger and a healer to Yuki as she ran around the village trying to protect as many people as possible. She encountered one of the Pain she had heard about. She turned on her Sharingan immediately. She knew she needed them. She was facing someone who defeated Jiraiya. He wasn't alone. Another one was behind and had grabbed onto a civilian asking him where Naruto was. The man refused to answer despite not knowing where Naruto was. He was scared, but he seemingly remained calm. He, then, had a terrified look on his face. Yuki tried to rush over, but she was stopped by the first Pain that was present. Before she could do anything, that man died. He was thrown to side like he was trash. Yuki caught him in his flight. She attracted their attention. The two of them went after her. She led them to an area with no civilian left. She wanted to make sure nobody else would get hurt for no reason.

"You seem to know a few things." Pain told her.

As he said those things, she felt herself getting pulled towards him as if he was the gravitational center. She flashed outside of range to escape the gravitational pull.

"Not bad." He then told her.

She then summoned Kiku to assist her as she knew that the battle wasn't going to be short. Kiku drew in the Nature's energy for her as she rested on Yuki's head.

"Senjutsu? At your age? Impressive." He said. "Seems like this is going to take too much time and you probably won't say much. Animal path will take care of you."

He disappeared along with the one that previously questioned the innocent civilian as another one came along with a monstrous looking bird and a mean looking dog with multiple heads who shared the same eyes as all of them. There were other animals around, but they focused on attacking the village instead of Yuki. She bit her lip. Despite not having to fight all of them at once, there were enough eyes around to make her feel uncomfortable. They were after all the Rinnegan. The more eyes present, the harder it would be for her to defeat them. As she attacked them, she realized that there was no blind spot she could find. With all their eyes interconnected and sharing information within their brain, they could see from everywhere and anywhere. She had to blind them somehow. It was going to take time, but she knew she could do it. In reality, it was more that she had to do it. There wasn't really a choice.

"Katsuyu, this might take a while." Yuki said. "How is the village doing right now? I can't sense people's chakra properly throughout the chaos."

"Tsunade-sama is still safe. She's consistently providing chakra to everyone in order to heal their injuries. A lot of people are being brought to the bunkers. They are safe. Sakura-san is in charge of the hospital right now. A lot of our shinobis are sent there right now. Many, as soon as they are minimally healed, are heading back into the battlefield. Team 8 is currently fighting off some of the animals that are wreaking havoc. Kakashi just engaged in a battle against two of the Pain. He's not letting them go anywhere right now. And..."

Before Katsuyu could finish, Yuki started making her move against the Animal Path Pain. No matter how fast their eyes could process the information, Yuki believed that she could defeat them with her teleportation technique, as she was constantly reminded that she's the fastest ninja since the Fourth Hokage. Everytime she appeared, she would throw a kunai into at least two of the dog's eyes in order to lessen its field of vision. She might not have the Rinnegan, but with her Sage Mode, she could sense and prepare for attacks almost just as well. Just as the dog was mostly blinded and Yuki was about to finish him off with her newly learnt Amaterasu, another Pain appeared and absorbed all of her jutsu. He tried to grab onto her to suck out most of her chakra, but she flashed herself from his grasp just in time.

"I told you this was going to take a while." Yuki told Katsuyu as she was catching her breath. "Kiku, are you still okay up there?"

"Don't worry about me." Kiku replied still focused on the task at hand.

"Yuki-san..." Katsuyu began as her voice trembled as if something no one could imagine had happened.

Yuki bit her lip as she had sensed it too. Before she could mourn, more animals were summoned around her and she was kept busy now by two of the Pains. She barely managed to dodge every single attack. She was distracted now that she found out what had happened. Her movements were not as fluid as they could be.

"Yuki-san! I know this is a bad time, but Konohamaru is fighting off against one them by himself right now."

He was the only family she had left. She couldn't ignore him. He was too young to succumb to death as well. She had lost enough people by that time. Konohamaru couldn't be the next one. She summoned the largest snow rabbit to have ever existed to fight off the two Pain for the time being.

"Kiku, this child is crazy!" The rabbit said as it arrived on scene.

"Toki-sama, sorry. I'm going to have to get you to fight this one for me. Don't risk you life though." Yuki said as she heard the comment about her craziness.

"Don't risk my life, you say. It's already a risk to be here." Toki replied as she readied herself for the fight.

Yuki didn't stay any longer as she flashed herself to where Konohamaru was. He seemingly had landed an attack on the Pain that was present. However, it wasn't enough for it to die. As he started to move again, he quickly headed towards Konohamaru who was exhausted on the ground. Yuki had arrived just in time to block the attack and strike back. As she stabbed Pain with her lightning, he held onto her arm not allowing for her to move. Out of nowhere, another Pain arrived and tried to stab her with this saw-like weapon. Because she was unable to form anymore seals, she could only dodge the attack to the best of her abilities. She was cut minimally at the waist in comparison to what could have happened if she remained in the same position. In her attempt to dodge the attack, she also broke the arms of the Pain that was holding her there. He finally let go and retreated alongside with the other one for some reason. Katsuyu quickly tended to Yuki's wound. Konohamaru crawled over and kept asking if she was going to be okay. Yuki smiled and nodded.

"You really should be heading to the bunkers, Konohamaru." She told him.

"I was on my way, but I got caught by him. Ebisu-sensei..."

"He's alive. Take him and Katsuyu and go now. If not, everybody's efforts to keep you all alive will be for nothing."

"Yuki-san, they've found out about Naruto's absence from the village." Katsuyu told her. "Shizune-san..."

"Konohamaru, go." Yuki said not wanting to hear about somebody else's death that day.

As Konohamaru stood up, Yuki looked towards the sky, praying that no one else would die. She truly had had it. As she looked to sky, the sun was being hidden by some kind of mass. As the mass grew bigger and bigger, it was only then that she realized why the two Pains they were fighting had retreated. The mass was heading right to the middle of the village. Yuki flashed herself to the highest point of the village and opened up her mangekyo sharingan. She had to teleport that thing elsewhere that was not in this dimension as it would just cause damage elsewhere. Kamui was her only option. However, she wasn't as proficient as Kakashi would have been. She could, at the very least, reduce the impact by reducing the size of that thing that was about to drop down onto the village. She did the best she could at that point. At least sixty percent of the mass had vanished. It drained a lot of her chakra despite using the Nature chakra Kiku had accumulated for her to maintain the Sage mode. She fell onto her knees as she saw the rest of the mass hit Konohagakure. Had she not reduced the size of the mass, there would be no village left. However, it still created a large crater in the village. As the dust rose from the ground and covered the view of the village from where Yuki was, she then heard a voice from behind saying:

"We should have gotten rid of you first."

She was then stabbed in the back by a black rod. She didn't sense him. As she had exited her sage mode after using Kamui, she lost the sensibility she previously had in that state. She coughed up some blood as he removed the rod from her and kicked her down onto the ground. Kiku was injured from the fall and was teleported back to her village. Yuki lied on the ground as she struggled to stand back up. She kept bleeding. She had fallen onto what used to be the Hokage's tower roof.

"You are quite resilient." He said as he rose his hand up to stab her second time.

She coughed up more blood as had blocked off his second attack. He was standing over her with the black rod hanging right over her chest. As the dust cleared, Tsunade was just a few meters away, witnessing the scene. She looked drained from sending out her chakra to every villagers in order to protect them from the impact of that mass. Yuki knew then that there were no casualties from that mass. She was relieved. She couldn't help but smile despite sensing her death being just around the corner. Tsunade tried to come over to Yuki to save her. As she made her way there, another Pain, the one who had injured her previously made his way to her, pointing his saw-like weapon towards her. Yuki, at that moment, unleashed her mangekyo again to send him elsewhere. As the space around him warped, Yuki lost strength to block the black rod from entering her body. As the pain spread throughout her body, she managed to maintain the warping and, at the very least, destroyed half of the Pain that was about to harm Tsunade. As he was about to hit the Hokage, it was punched out of the way and the remaining half was completely destroyed, creating a great amount of dust once again. Tsunade collapsed to ground as she was depleted from most of her chakra.

The dust finally cleared up. He was standing there, seemingly stronger than ever. He was also angry that his home was destroyed. He quickly took Tsunade to safety by Sakura. He rushed back to Yuki who was barely breathing. She was bathing in her own blood at this point. Her usually snow white hair was almost all red. As he kneeled next to her, she smiled at him, grateful that he was here now. One of the many Katsuyu came over as well and started trying to heal Yuki's wounds.

"You were reckless again, weren't you?" Naruto asked her.

She shook her head as she coughed up more blood. Katsuyu, then, gave him the rundown of the situation.

"What about Kakashi-sensei? Is he on a mission right now? I don't sense his chakra anywhere."

Neither of them could bear to tell Naruto the truth. He had already lost Jiraiya just a little earlier. It would be too much to tell him that his other mentor had now died as well. Naruto, however, seemed to have been answered through their silence.

"I'll destroy him." Naruto said as he stood up.

"Take part of Katsuyu with you." Yuki managed to say. "She'll help you through the battle."

He nodded and headed off. Yuki watched him leave. She felt useless at that moment despite knowing she had already done her best. Her body started going cold despite Katsuyu trying her best to make sure the bleeding would stop. She could hear the sound from the battle that was happening a little further, but she could no longer see it. Her vision had gone blurry. Her breathing slowed down quite a bit.

"Yuki-san, hang in there!" Katsuyu cried out.

"Don't waste your energy." Yuki said as she closed her eyes. "No human being could possibly survive this much blood loss. I've also pretty much drained all my chakra."

Katsuyu stopped after hearing that reality. It wasn't something she was unaware of, she was just denying it. Yuki had accepted her death at that point. The only thing she regretted was not being able to say goodbye to everyone. She was going to die there, all by herself. It was fine in the current situation, but she wished she could see a few people before she closed her eyes forever. At the same time, she didn't want anyone to be aware of her death as she knew that knowledge only brought more pain to the living.

"Katsuyu, keep updating me on the current situation over there." Yuki told Katsuyu.

It was the only she wanted. She knew she wouldn't live for much longer, but the inability to know what was happening killed her even more. Naruto was doing fine. However, it did not last for too long as Katsuyu told Yuki that he just got pinned down to the ground. His life was not in danger as they needed him alive to extract the Nine-tailed Beast.

"Hinata-san just rushed into the battle!" Katsuyu said.

Hinata was someone Yuki felt responsible for as Team 8's captain. Yuki bit her lip and closed her eyes wondering how much chakra she had left. It didn't matter. She managed to form a seal with her hand and flashed herself to where the battle was. It seemed she arrived just in time to switch place with Hinata before the fatal blow.

"You were still alive." Pain told her.

"Konohagakure's shinobis aren't that weak." Yuki replied softly as her eyes closed and her hands dropped to the ground.

She heard Naruto cry out her name before completely losing consciousness. Everything was black afterwards and soundless. It was over.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 55**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter!

I hope you enjoyed it.

Let me know in the reviews!

xox

Krystal


	57. Chapter 56: Changes

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 56: Changes**

* * *

If this was what death felt like, Yuki believed it wasn't so bad. She felt like she was embraced by the arms of someone who truly cared for her as it felt warm and safe. It was funny how in that moment the first person that came to her mind was Neji. It felt the same way whenever she would lean into him. She knew that he wasn't dead and so, this was not possible, but it was how it felt like. It came to her realization that he was the one she really wished she had bid farewell to. She wondered how he would feel when he came back from his mission and found out that she had died. Perhaps he would feel grateful that she had saved Hinata since she was family to him. Perhaps he would have felt devastated. Perhaps he would return to his cold self and not feel anything. Perhaps he would resent the main family once again. She didn't wish for any of those. Yuki wanted him to feel proud of her for protecting what was most precious to her until the moment of her death. She didn't want him to cry. There wasn't really much pain in death other than the regrets of not saying goodbye. It truly was easier to die than to live.

"Why hasn't she opened her eyes yet?" She heard someone ask. "Everybody else is back already."

That voice was filled with worries. That voice was his. She didn't want him to worry. She wanted to tell him she was in a better place now. She tried to tell to him, but she couldn't. She had to find a way to tell him.

"She was severely wounded before she died. Her life was saved, but the injuries are severe enough that she needs time to recover." A female voice said.

Her life was saved? Yuki tried even harder to speak up so that they would stop worrying about her. It was so hard. Her throat felt like it was completely closed off and no air could go through for sound to be made. She tried to move her fingers so that they knew she could hear them at least. Her little pinky managed to be lifted up. He quickly grabbed her hand. His hand was so warm.

"She moved!" He said.

He sounded really happy about it. He held on to her hand really tightly as if he was afraid he would never get the chance to do so once again. The warmth spread throughout her body. She could feel her heart beating once again. She finally was breathing again. Slowly, her lids started to shake as her eyes wanted to open. Light started going through her pupils, making her eyes squint and her face frown.

"Yuki…" He kept calling her.

She slowly opened her eyes. His face came into view. He looked relieved as he finally managed to see her eyes. She sat up as her vision cleared up. He hugged her tightly as she sat there frozen, not too sure how to react. She had just come back from death. She looked around. They were all there. Naruto also was there, smiling, leaning against Kakashi who was also up and standing. He gave her a thumb up. She smiled back. Kakashi let out a sigh of relief. Shikamaru mumbled something about how she was troublesome. Lee was crying out of joy. Sakura was a little further, holding onto Tsunade who seemingly was in a coma after exhausting her chakra. She was still alive however. Yuki was relieved. As long as she was still alive, she would come back to them. She knew that.

Neji finally let go. He looked at her in the eyes. She could tell that he cried. It was strange for her to imagine Neji crying. He always had such great control of his emotions. Crying was not something he would do.

"I gave you a fright, didn't I?" She asked.

"I came back to village and saw you bathing in your own blood… What do you think?" He answered as he looked away.

"Eh? Neji Hyuga, scared? I still can't imagine it. Perhaps a reenactment of what happened…"

"I can't believe you would joke about this right now!" He said angrily.

Yuki knew it was time to stop teasing him. She went ahead and hugged him under everybody's surprised eyes. He was also taken aback. She didn't know what pushed her to do so, but she knew how she felt about him after having lost once the opportunity to tell him how she felt.

"Sorry. I tried not to risk my life, but it was hard not to do so, you know." Yuki said. "Everybody was trying so hard. I really couldn't help it."

She then let go of him as he was still dazed by her sudden actions. She looked away as she slowly regret doing it so abruptly. She then took a better look around her. Yuki wondered what had happened. There was no way she actually lived through her injuries. However, she felt like it wasn't the proper time to get all the answers she needed. The village was in ruins and war was obviously at their doorstep. It was too close for comfort, but they didn't have to confront it just yet. They still had time. Little, perhaps, but there was still time before they had to fight again.

* * *

She only found out a little later that Nagato, the one who controlled Pain, was behind everybody's resurrection. Naruto spoke highly of him despite all he had done. Yuki also believed Nagato deserved the praise Naruto gave him. In his circumstances, Yuki assumed a lot of people would have done the same. At least, in his death, he allowed for many lives to be saved, including hers. She was grateful she was granted a chance to feel again, to make up for the regrets she had as she was dying.

She spent the next few days with the rest of the people in the village rebuilding their home. During her spare time, she would spend it with Neji. There was a slight awkwardness at the beginning, but they got used to each other's presence. Quickly enough, she got so used to seeing him that whenever he wasn't around, she found herself thinking about him and smiling to herself.

As she was going through some of the paperwork with Shikamaru that day, she did just that. He noticed. He laughed and pushed her playfully. She glared at him.

"Don't give me that look. I wouldn't tease you if you didn't have such a hard time before figuring out how you felt about him. You were being so troublesome. You should have just been honest from the beginning." He told her.

"Really? You told me to tell him I didn't like him that way."

"You are twisting my words. I did say that, but I also said that if you did, you had to rethink it."

"So really, you weren't being helpful." She replied as she placed the last few papers into a folder.

"Why do I even talk to you?" He said as he sighed.

Yuki chuckled. As they were about to leave, an ANBU appeared in front of them. Yuki recognized that person as previously being part of the team that protected Tsunade. She raised an eyebrow as she assumed this couldn't be good news.

"Yuki-san, they've announced a new Hokage as Tsunade-sama isn't able to perform her tasks any longer."

"Why the rush?" Yuki asked.

"Sasuke attacked someone from Kumogakure under the Akatsukis' order. The Kages are meeting soon to discuss what to do about it."

Yuki bit her lip as Shikamaru glanced over at her. He clenched his fists as he remembered that his first mission as a captain was to bring him home and they failed. He blamed himself for letting that failure become such a troublesome matter now.

"Who's the new Hokage?" Shikamaru then asked.

"Danzo-sama."

"That old man? Where was he when Konoha was under attack?! Both times!" Yuki yelled out of anger.

"It would be nice for you to be more respectful of your new Hokage, Yuki." A voice said, coming from the shadows.

"Respect?" Yuki said as she chuckled half-heartedly. "Tsunade-sama is still alive, why would we need a new Hokage? Your hunger for power will be your downfall, old man."

She gave sign for Shikamaru to leave with her as they walked away, past Danzo. Before she could be too far away, Danzo told her:

"That folder you are holding, hand it over to Kumogakure. They've sent people for it."

"Don't order me around." She quickly replied as she disappeared with Shikamaru.

* * *

If she wasn't mistaken, Sasuke attacked Bee for his tailed-beast. Knowing how strong Bee was, she believed he was fine. Sasuke, as powerful as he had gotten, was still no match for Bee's experience and stamina. She could rest assured that he was fine. However, this placed a target on Sasuke's back. Not that it really mattered to her now, but she still wished that, after gaining Itachi's eyes, he would understand his brother better and return to the village as his brother had wished. Instead, he took the opposite path. She couldn't help but feel angry about it.

As she and Shikamaru went separate ways, she walked around the village to look at the progress of the reparation while being deep in her thoughts. She then heard sounds of someone being punched nearby. She closed her eyes for a second and recognized the chakra of all the people that were present on the scene.

She flashed herself to the place and stopped another punch from landing. She looked behind her and Naruto was standing there with a bloody nose. She sighed and looked at the person who was beating him up.

"It's been a while, Karui." She said as she pushed the one named Karui back a little. "I believe you are here for this folder."

She handed Karui the folder that contained all the information about Sasuke and the Akatsukis. Karui didn't grab it right away as she was shocked to see her old friend there. Even more surprised was Omoi who had accompanied Karui to the village. His lollipop even dropped to the ground as he was unable to close his mouth. He quickly snapped out of it and walked over to Yuki as he embraced her in his arms.

"I was so worried." He said.

Yuki pushed him away and smiled:

"It's nice seeing you again."

He looked away as he wasn't used to seeing her smile in such a genuine way. During her stay at Kumogakure, she barely ever smiled. Every time she did, he felt like his heart was going to burst right out of his chest. He wondered if she remembered what he had told her and his feelings for her.

"When I saw him," he said pointing at Sai. "I wanted to ask him what had happened with you, but I was too afraid of the answer. I didn't want to hear that you were…"

"Dead? I actually was a few days ago." Yuki said. "I've been doing well. He's a friend now."

"What do you mean a few days ago? How…" Omoi started as he grabbed her hand.

Sai glared at him. Although he was aware of Yuki's feelings towards him now as they were quite obvious, he still disliked the sight of her being friendly with other guys. He only learned recently that it was something called jealousy. Naruto explained it to him, so did Sakura. Because they knew, they both quickly exchanged looks after glancing at Sai. Yuki, however, quickly pulled her hand away and shoved the folder into his hands.

"It's a long story. You've got what you wanted. You should leave now."

"You can't just suddenly disappear then reappear without explaining yourself! Furthermore, we still need to question them about Sasuke!" Karui then said angrily as she walked towards Naruto again, ready to grab him by the collar.

"Karui, do you really want to cause more tension between the two villages by hurting someone who saved Konohagakure? People won't let it go so easily if Naruto is harmed. I'm one of those people."

"I'll fight you if I need to." Karui said. "Why are you protecting him?"

"Probably for the same reason that he's unwilling to tell you about Sasuke." Yuki replied.

"Friends? What are we to you then?" Karui asked still frustrated.

"Forget it, Karui." Omoi then intervened as he was now looking at the ground, understanding who Yuki truly was. "She has forgotten all about us. Actually, no. She was never herself with us."

"What do you mean?" Karui asked him.

"Are you dumb? She's obviously from Konohagakure. She lied about not having a home! She was only in Kumogakure as a spy. She was never our friend. That's why she would fight us and protect him. Let's just go."

"With a brain that keeps on thinking all the time, that's what you finally came up with?" Yuki asked Omoi. "I've never forgotten you guys. I'm still very grateful for all the times that we had together. We'll always be…"

"Don't say friends." Omoi interrupted her. "The Yuki I knew was always honest. She didn't lie. If she had to lie, she would just not say anything. But now, I realized that she didn't talk a lot because everything was a lie. She was never honest. Friends don't treat each other like that. Friends trust each other! To think that I used to…"

He stopped himself and bit his lip. He looked away. He felt betrayed. He knew it wasn't her fault, but he had to put the blame on someone. He knew she was from Konohagakure originally, but he truly believed she had left because of her grandfather's death.

"Sorry, Omoi…" Yuki began.

"Do you know that I kept hearing the way you called my name over and over again?" He asked angrily.

"You are not usually this short-tempered." Yuki then said. "You said that I don't resembled the person you once knew, but, right now, this also isn't the Omoi I once knew. He would've understood. He wouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"You are awfully talkative." He said as he turned his back to her. "Karui, let's go. We got what we came for."

"Omoi! We…"

"Let's go. I can't be here any longer."

The two of them disappeared, leaving a bitter taste in Yuki's mouth. She felt like she should go after them, but, at the same time, she didn't want to. She didn't want to have to explain herself. It was like what she had told him. He should've understood her. He was the one who knew her the best in Kumogakure, yet he could only see her as a traitor at that moment. She didn't want to have to explain herself to someone like that. She knew that she didn't change like he said. She had always been herself. Then again, time changed things without people consciously knowing about it.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 56**

* * *

Thank you for reading another chapter!

Hope you are enjoying it.

xox

Krystal


	58. Chapter 57: Pride and Punishment

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 57: Pride and Punishment**

* * *

Yuki was still upset at the new appointment of Danzo as their sixth Hokage. Of all the possible choices, she believed he was the worst. His views for the village was wrong. He hungered for power. She couldn't accept that such a character could become their leader. Furthermore, knowing that he was off to the Kage Summit to represent the village felt even more wrong. She knew how he wanted things to be dealt. She knew he wanted Sasuke killed. She also knew he was after Sasuke's sharingans. To her, it meant more than that. They were Itachi's. They were the only thing he could leave for his brother. She couldn't bear the thought of having someone else possess them.

Naruto was also upset that people were after Sasuke to kill him. He still held on to the idea that he could bring him back home to Konohagakure and help him change his mind. Although Yuki disagreed, she still believed in Naruto. He often made the impossible possible. Yuki thought she had to give him, at least, the chance to try to convince Sasuke. As for the actual outcome, she just wanted the best for the world she lived in.

It was the day that Danzo was leaving the village to meet the other Kages. Yuki was sitting on a tree nearby the village's gate with Neji. As he was trying to calm her down about the whole situation, the sight of Danzo upset her once again. As she looked away in anger, she thought about going after him to spy on him. She couldn't come to an immediate decision as she was uncertain if that was the best idea or if it was simply an impulsive idea.

"I know what you are thinking." Neji told her. "There's a high chance you'll get hurt if you follow them."

"Always being the voice of reason…" She mumbled. "I just can't accept the fact that he'll go out there, representing our village, with his satanic ideas. Nobody in the village agrees with him."

"You are not wrong, but, maybe, that's the only solution right now." Neji tried to reason with her.

"Anybody else would have made a better Hokage while maintaining the founding values of this village. Kakashi-senpai, Shikaku-san…" Yuki said. "We could have waited for Tsunade-sama to wake up and just send an envoy instead. Furthermore, you don't know the Raikage's temper. Danzo will just add fuel to the fire. They'll definitely hunt Sasuke down and only stop when he's completely torn apart."

"You don't think Sasuke deserves that end?"

"I would be lying if I said I was as naïve as Naruto, believing that he could return to the village as if nothing had happened, but I don't think killing him is necessarily the only solution."

"That's one thing I never understood…" Neji started. "Why do you care so much about Sasuke?"

"Why are you asking? Jealous I'm not giving you the same amount of the attention?" Yuki asked teasing him as she hopped down from the tree.

He followed her down and pouted:

"We were having a serious conversation here."

"Let's just say it's not so much him that I care about. I was just entrusted with a mission."

"Can you not give me a straight answer?" Neji asked, still sulking.

"I care about him just as much as you would care about him. He's a fellow villager whether we like it or not." She replied.

As they started walking back towards the center of the village, they ran into Kakashi, Yamato and Naruto. They looked like they were ready to set out. Kakashi threw at Yuki her own bag. She raised her eyebrow before realizing that he wanted her to set out with them.

"Sorry, Neji. I'm going to have to take her away from you for a few days." Kakashi said with a smile.

"Eh? I… Wh-what…" Neji said as started to stutter, which was quite rare for him to do so, as Naruto chuckled at the sight of his friend being out of character.

"Are we heading to the Kage Summit?" Yuki asked as she wrapped the bag around her waist.

"Naruto wants to say a few words to the Raikage since he seems to be the one who initiated this whole idea of chasing down Sasuke." Kakashi explained. "I didn't disagree to it as long as we tagged along."

"Kakashi-sensei told me you knew him." Naruto said.

Yuki nodded. She also still owed him an apology for leaving Kumogakure without a word. It wouldn't be a bad idea for her to tag along. She looked at Neji and smiled:

"Guess I'm heading out after all."

"You always get your way, don't you?" He said. "Just stay safe. Don't be reckless."

"We will make sure she doesn't get too friendly with others." Naruto told Neji, jokingly, wanting to see Neji embarrassed once again.

Neji glared at him as his cheeks started changing colors. The four of them then rushed out of the village as Yuki waved goodbye to Neji.

* * *

Yamato had already implanted onto Omoi's team when they came to the village. Although he didn't know they would be chasing them to find the Raikage, it was preventive thing to protect the village, since, after all, they were outsiders. They already had an idea where they were heading. Whenever big discussions were to be made, they were held in the Land of Iron as it was a neutral land ran by samurais. They had always remained outside of any conflict between the others lands. They weren't part of any country either. Their purpose was to maintain a certain balance between the stronger military forces such as Konohagakure and the weaker ones.

As they approached the border of the Land of Iron, they could feel the cold air making their hair stand on their skin. They pulled out capes from their bags and put it on as a measure of protecting themselves from freezing to death. Yuki closed her eyes to sense for any sign of people close to them as they entered the Land of Iron.

"500 feet, at two o'clock, the Raikage is there. He just met up with Samui's team." Yuki told them.

Kakashi nodded as Naruto simply rushed forward in high speed. Yamato sighed at his impatience as they all followed him. Yuki was thinking of what to say to the Raikage. She knew it wasn't going to be easy for him to forgive her judging from Omoi's reaction in the village.

"Samui, you were being careless. You were being followed." Darui said as he grabbed hold of his sword, ready to fight.

"Darui-senpai, we aren't here to fight." Yuki said as she arrived first to prevent a fight from erupting.

"Yuki!" He said, surprised.

The Raikage stepped forward and walked up to Yuki. He was glaring at her as she smiled apologetically:

"Raikage-sama, how have you been?"

She saw in the corner of her eye that Omoi was glaring at her and didn't move, only because Samui was holding him back. She bit her lip as she started playing with her hair amidst all the tension that was present.

"You…" The Raikage started, sounding angry before sighing. "How have you been?"

He always doted on her despite his usual stern demeanor. He cared for her like she was his own daughter at times. As much as he resented her leaving Kumogakure without a word, his care for her was much more important.

"I'm here, am I not?" She replied as she walked up closer to him. "I'm really sorry I left without a word. I didn't mean to do so, really…"

"I see you are back where you came from." He then said as he glanced over at the other three who were all proudly wearing their Konohagakure forehead protector. "It's good that you are safe. Now, tell me, why have you shown yourself here of all places and time?"

Naruto walked up and pleaded:

"Please, please do not kill Sasuke."

"Again with this nonsense!" Karui yelled out as she rolled up her sleeves ready to beat Naruto once again.

Yuki quickly stepped in and stopped her from getting any closer to Naruto by placing her hand on Karui's shoulder. Karui grabbed Yuki's arm as she glared into her eyes.

"Karui, let's hear him out at least, shall we?" Yuki whispered.

They both let go. Naruto looked into the Raikage's eyes and repeated himself:

"I… Raikage-sama, please do not order people to kill Sasuke… He…"

"He harmed one of my people. I cannot let him go."

"He… He's just lost. He was consumed by vengeance, that's why he did what he did. I don't want anybody else to be stuck in this vicious cycle." Naruto said.

"Just lost, eh? Kid, you've got guts to say that about someone who is basically trash. By getting rid of him, we are getting rid of a danger. Vengeance? Call it what you want, but I'm not going to let him live."

"He's my friend. He's not trash." Naruto said as he looked to the snowy ground.

The Raikage chose to ignore him as he walked past Naruto, heading towards the Kages Summit location. Naruto ran in front of him and went down on his knees as his eyes were filling up with tears.

"Please… I'm begging you. I want to stop this cycle of revenge. I don't want people to kill because of someone that was once killed or hurt. I'm begging you."

"Kid, being a shinobi, you shouldn't be weak like this. A man should not go onto his knees this easily. Have more pride, will you?"

"Raikage-sama, when a man lets go of all his pride to beg for something, isn't it at least worth for that something to be taken into consideration?" Yuki intervened. "I have no rights to ask you for anything as I already owe you so much, but, please, can you at least think about it?"

"My answer is no." He replied to her coldly as he kept walking.

Naruto collapsed into the snow as Kakashi and Yamato quickly rushed to his side. He was still injured from getting beaten up by Karui and the fight against Pain, yet he rushed to the Land of Iron, fighting the cold weather in order to beg for Sasuke's life. He had no energy left. As the others walked by them, ignoring their presence, Yuki clenched her fists in anger. They didn't have to dismiss Naruto in such ways. If anything, they should admire him for going after what he believed in. He only wanted peace. He was simply done with lives being thrown away for the sake of revenge. One thing kept leading to another in that cycle. She was also done with it. As Kakashi told them to head back as they've tried enough already, Yuki decided to ignore his order. She tried to go after the Raikage. She wanted him to hear her out again. Kakashi tried to stop her.

"Yuki, you've heard his answer. He's not one to change his mind, you know that very well."

"Because I know him so well, maybe I have a chance at convincing him. Sorry, senpai, I'm going to have to disobey your orders this one time." Yuki said as she flashed herself to the Kumogakure's ninjas.

She had placed her seal on Karui when she stopped her from attacking Naruto a little earlier. She didn't know if she had to go after them eventually, but she didn't want to have to use the long way to get to them again. As she appeared, she wasn't exactly welcomed. Karui actually cursed at her for placing a seal on her when she least expected it, saying that she played dirty.

"Yuki, we are going to be late to the Kages Summit if you keep delaying us like this." Darui told her. "If you need to talk, you are going to have to wait until after…"

"I don't think the matter of Sasuke can be pushed back since it is to be discussed during the summit." Yuki interrupted him.

"Not even you can convince me of sparing him." The Raikage said.

"Perhaps, you can leave it to Konohagakure to deal with him instead. I'm not asking you to spare him of any punishments. I can assure you that you won't be disappointed with the way we will handle things."

"You are being diplomatic as ever." The Raikage said. "What if I am unsatisfied with the way you guys handle things?"

"I'll take responsibilities for it then."

"That kid earlier had too little pride and you have too much." Raikage commented. "Do you think you can carry all the responsibilities on your small shoulders? He said it himself, vengeance is a vicious cycle. How can you guarantee no one will mourn for your death?"

"I'll think about it when the time comes. Besides, I don't think you would have the heart to kill me." Yuki said, smiling as she sensed that the Raikage was somewhat considering sparing Sasuke.

"Damn it, Yuki…" He said as he walked past her. "I can only promise you one thing. If I can, I will let Konohagakure handle Sasuke."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 57**

* * *

Thank you for reading!

I hope you are enjoying Yuki's reunion with the Kumogakure people.

xox

Krystal


	59. Chapter 58: A Proper Response

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 58: A Proper Response**

* * *

She parted ways with the Raikage as she had no longer any businesses with them. Furthermore, they weren't allowed into the area of the Kages Summit as to ensure the safety of the whole procedure. Each Kage was allowed two bodyguards. Any other people had to remain outside the perimeter set by the samurais. Team Samui also had to stay behind. They were actually instructed to return to the village by the Raikage. However, they remained there for a bit with Yuki. Although they seemed to have ended things on a bad note in the Leaf village, there were still things that needed to be said.

Yuki was never really close to Samui. They barely ever interacted. The only times they did were because of Omoi and Karui. She, however, was a great judge of atmosphere. She figured Karui and Omoi wanted to talk to Yuki without any restraint. She told them she would slowly head back to the village and told them to follow as soon as they would be done.

"Why did you lie to us?" Karui started.

"It wasn't entirely a lie. I truly had no home to go to when I first met you guys. Or at least, I thought so." Yuki replied. "I know I owe you guys a lot of explanation…"

"Really?" Omoi asked sarcastically. "Because, I feel like we already got all the answers we needed when we saw you in Konohagakure, calling that guy a friend."

"A lot of things have happened since I left Kumogakure. I'll admit that I handled my leave from your village in the worst possible way. I didn't give it enough thought. I just sort of left on an impulse."

"And so, for a whole year, you couldn't send us even one message to let us know how you were doing? Where you were?" Omoi said as his blood was boiling up once again. "You were that busy that you forgot all about us."

"I never forgot about you, but what was I supposed to say? Hey, Omoi. Sorry. I'm actually back in Konohagakure? Because that would have been much better."

"At least, it would have softened the blow I received when I saw you in that village." He replied dryly.

Yuki stayed silent. She had to give it to him. He managed to silence her. He wasn't wrong. Had she told him, he wouldn't be so angry now that they were face to face. She didn't blame him for being frustrated with her. She did do him wrong. She'll quickly admit to that. She kept telling him that. He didn't want to hear it nor accept it. Karui seemed like she was over it. It would be hard for her to call Yuki a friend at that point, but she wasn't angry anymore. She had let go. Omoi was still angry. It showed in his body language and tone.

"I think this is beyond what I thought is going on." Karui then said, noticing the strange behavior Omoi was demonstrating. "I'm joining up with Samui first."

She left leaving only Omoi and Yuki there in the middle of the snow field. A gust of wind blew to fill in the silence that was present between the two of them. Yuki's long white hair looked like it was part of the landscape as it was lifted by the wind. He then turned his back to her. She did too. The silence said it all. There was no words left to be heard. Before they could walk away from each other, Omoi swallowed his pride and said:

"There was a lot I wanted to say to you. Since you've left the village, every day I would head to that cliff where we trained together, where we watched the sunset together. I would think about the things I wanted to tell you and that I didn't get the chance to say to you. Yet, now, I can't seem to remember anything. It's funny, right?"

"I'm really sorry we've gotten to this point. I take full responsibilities…"

"Yuki, do you ever feel with your heart? Do ever see things in a mundane way rather than a diplomatic way? You always told me to think less and to just go with my guts, because thinking led me nowhere. Yet now, you are choosing your words so carefully rather than feel them."

"I…" Yuki started as she was once again baffled by what Omoi just said.

She really couldn't reply to that. It wasn't that she was not genuine when she said sorry. That word, perhaps, did not carry the meaning that Omoi was looking for. It was too simple for what he had felt about her. She bit her lip as she looked to the ground. She felt guilty for saying things that she thought he wanted to hear. It wasn't an apology that he was looking for, nor did he want to blame her for disappearing for all this time. He wanted something honest coming out of her mouth. He wanted her to tell him how she was doing, how her life had been, why she truly had to leave. He never blamed her for leaving. He was only angry that she did not trust him enough to tell him everything when he could share all his secrets with her.

"I probably said too much again. I tend to say too much, don't I?" He said as he started walking away.

"I'll think about what you said." Yuki then said before he would be too far away to hear her. "I'll come to see you when I have a proper answer to give you. For now, goodbye."

She could hear his footsteps stop as she bid him farewell. She was now the one walking away. She didn't want to turn around. She didn't have an answer for him. Her answer would be too long, it would be a betrayal to Itachi. It wouldn't make sense to Omoi. It wasn't that she didn't know the answer. She chose not to answer for now and to wait until everything was over before giving his a proper response. Goodbye was all she could say then and now. He started walking away again. He then was too far away from her for her to sense his presence or hear his footsteps in the snow. It wasn't the way she wanted to part with him again, but it was still better than the abrupt goodbye they had in Konohagakure. It didn't leave a bitter taste in her mouth.

* * *

Yuki was now making her way in the Land of Iron towards Naruto, Kakashi and Yamato. She was now in her sage mode as she wanted to locate them efficiently. She could've flashed herself there, but she wanted some time to herself to think about everything. So she walked slowly there. She also knew that Naruto needed time to recover, therefore there was no rush. As she was walking there, still in her sage mode, she then sensed a familiar chakra. It was cold, colder than the snow that was now blowing heavily on the Land of Iron. _Sasuke._ She stopped for a moment, gathering more nature energy, preparing herself for a fight. He wasn't alone. He was accompanied by three others. One of them had an insane amount of chakra. They were headed towards the Kages Summit. No, they were already there. She could sense a few sources of chakra disappearing. They had already attacked the Summit. She flashed herself there, knowing that one of the Kage had her seal on him.

She was now in the middle of the room where the Kages were having a discussion. A white creature was there. It looked both like a human and a plant. She couldn't tell what it resembled more. It was already dead however between the hands of the Raikage. She was standing next to Gaara. He didn't flinch at all at her appearance.

"Yuki. You are probably here because you felt Sasuke's presence, right?" The Raikage asked her. "He's here. He actually dared to attack the Kage Summit. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to keep my promise to you."

He rushed out as he made a hole in the wall next to him. Darui and C, his other bodyguard, followed. The rest of the Kages remained there. Yuki also remained there as she debated whether she should follow the Raikage or not. If he did, indeed, kill Sasuke, she didn't want to witness it. However, she also wanted to head over and try to stop him. She, then, feared that her intervention would lead to more death as she could sense that Sasuke was passed the point of redemption.

"Leaving the village without permission, trespassing the Kages Summit… Yuki, you've committed multiple offenses." Danzo told her.

"I can't help but feel like there is animosity towards you, Danzo-sama."

"He controlled our moderator into letting him lead the alliance between the five villages." Gaara explained to Yuki.

Yuki smirked at Danzo. She couldn't help but to find it funny that he would reprimand her for her actions when he was doing much worst. She couldn't stand the sight of Danzo any longer. She opted to head out to stop the Raikage from killing Sasuke. She, then heard, Danzo's bodyguards moving, trying to stop her. However, Gaara stopped them from going anywhere with his Sand as he exchanged looks with Yuki.

"Thanks, Gaara."

She headed downstairs through the holes that the Raikage had punched through the floors. It was indeed a quicker way to get to Sasuke. As she got down there, C was already on the floor, seemingly stuck in a genjutsu. Darui was fighting another guy with light blue hair who also carried a large sword that she recognized as being Zabuza's. Meanwhile, the Raikage was having a match against Sasuke.

"Don't you dare interrupt this fight, Yuki!" The Raikage yelled out to her. "He's out here to kill. If you don't intend on killing him, don't interfere."

As she was about to reply to him, another one rushed towards her. He didn't look human. If she wasn't mistaken, it was a state of a curse seal from Orochimaru. However, he seemed to have no side effects from it. He seemed crazy as he was madly yelling at her, saying that he would kill her. She skillfully dodged all of his attack before blasting him away with a large lightning jutsu. She then headed over to C to release the genjutsu set on him. At that moment, Sasuke unleashed both his mangekyo sharingan, creating a skeleton-like armor around him as he was being slammed onto the ground by the Raikage. It protected it him. Yuki wasn't sure if she felt relieved or worried that the attack didn't work against Sasuke. Meanwhile, Darui managed to stop his opponent's movement with his lightning technique.

"Sasuke! Is this your answer after knowing what had happened?" Yuki yelled out to him.

"Ah… so you knew all along, yet you did nothing about it." He answered her.

He then attacked the Raikage with Amaterasu, a black flame that could not be extinguished by anyone except for its caster. The Raikage dodged it. However, a samurai in the background got hit by it. At that moment, the Raikage quickly attacked Sasuke despite the black flame surrounding him. Yuki could tell that Sasuke would die from this attack if it couldn't be stopped. It did. Some sand wrapped itself around the Fourth Raikage's fist, pushing him back and away from Sasuke.

"Damn it, Kazekage. You better have a good explanation for this."

"I wish to speak to Sasuke." Gaara answered calmly.

"It's no use." Yuki told him as she walked over to Gaara. "He's completely consumed by revenge now. He's too deep into it now."

Sasuke laughed maniacally as Yuki glared at him. He was a disappointment in her eyes. Itachi sacrificed everything for him to have a decent life despite all that had happened and yet he chose to go down the path of revenge and darkness, believing it was the only way he could take. She looked away from him. She wanted to protect him for Naruto and Itachi's sake, but she could no longer justify her actions. Noticing her body language, the Fourth Raikage cut off his arm that was being consumed by the flames of the Amaterasu as C quickly rushed over to stop the bleeding. Yuki, then, unleashed her own mangekyo sharingan. Gaara quickly glanced over at her as he smirked. He never realized how much hidden power Yuki had in her.

"More than anyone, you should understand his pain, my pain, our clan's pain… yet you still defend that puny village that believes it is so righteous."

"Our clan?" Yuki asked. "I don't remember being part of any clan."

"Then you must have stolen those eyes." Sasuke said as he rushed towards her with a full Susanoo.

"Only an Uchiha should have the sharingan?" She replied as she used Kamui to take part of the Susanoo away from him.

As she succeeded doing so, the rest of them used their own jutsu to strike Sasuke. Before they could land the attack, Sasuke shot an arrow filled with the eternal flame, Amaterasu. Yuki dodged it, but the tip of her hair was touched by the fire. She quickly cut off her hair before it could cause any damage to her body. The attacks blasted Sasuke away from his original position. As they collided into each other, the ceiling started to crumble down towards all of them. Gaara quickly grabbed Yuki and pulled her towards him as his sand created a shield around them. Everybody else remained safe by using their own protective skills.

"He got away." Yuki told Gaara. "He's heading towards Danzo and the rest of them."

"Did you place a seal in that room before you left?" He asked her.

"Ugh… I didn't. I should have." She replied. "Let's get out of here first."

As the sand went back into Gaara's gourd, they could now see the extent of the damage that was done to the place around them. There was only stones and dust left. It was unrecognizable. Yuki quickly left the premises and headed upstairs where the other Kages were. As she arrived into that room, Danzo was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile the samurai known as Mifune, the Tsuchikage and his aides were covered in a white substance that resembled the white creature that was dead in the room. They kept growing like spores. Yuki could sense Sasuke's chakra behind the wall that was now covered in melted lava. Yuki quickly freed everyone using chakra strings like a puppeteer would to pull the white spores away from their bodies. She was well taught by Kankuro during her time in Sunagakure as it required almost no effort at all. As she did so, the Susanoo's hand broke through the wall as an acidic fume started spreading into the room. The fume was quickly stopped by the Mizukage. She was known for her ability to change the pH in the air to harm the enemy. Seemingly, Sasuke was not unaffected by it despite being protected by the Susanoo armor. Yuki pulled out her sword and brought it to Sasuke's neck as he crumbled onto the ground. He looked at her with hatred in his eyes. She couldn't bear to do it. She could have killed him right there if she wanted to, but she hesitated. It wasn't in her nature to do so, but Naruto's voice entered her mind. Her sword started pulling away.

"Why don't I do it for you instead?" The Tsuchikage said as he imprisoned Sasuke in a cube.

Before they knew it, Sasuke disappeared right in front of their eyes. There was only dust left as the Tsuchikage released his jutsu. The woman that was one of Sasuke's accomplice cried for him. Yuki put her sword away as she bit her lip. She then heard the Raikage's voice yelling for Sasuke as well.

"OI! Tsuchikage! He was mine to kill!" The Raikage said.

"Raikage, you'll get another chance eventually." A voice said as a man with a mask started appearing in the room with Sasuke on his shoulder.

He was still alive. The Raikage tried to attack him, but just went right through him. The masked man then used his eye to send him away. _Kamui_. It was just like what both Kakashi and Yuki could do. He then also sent the female accomplice in the same manner, telling her to revive Sasuke.

"Uchiha Madara…" Yuki then murmured.

"You are right?" He said as he turned towards her. "Sharingan, eh?"

She closed her eyes and her eyes turned back to the way they usually were. She didn't want him to notice anything about her eyes or to learn anything about her abilities. It was already enough that he knew she had the sharingan. It felt dangerous to her to let him know any more than that. He then looked away towards all the other Kages.

"I'm here to tell you about my plan, the Infinite Tsukuyomi."

"The what?" The Raikage asked.

"The whole world united as one under a genjutsu, where all dreams become reality and I, Uchiha Madara, shall control all human lives." Madara explained.

"That sounds much more like a nightmare." Yuki said.

"War is a nightmare. With everybody existing in this world that I shall create, there will be no war, no more pain. It will a paradise for everyone."

"I don't know if a life without freedom is much of a paradise." She told him. "Everything will merely be an illusion. It isn't reality."

"What is reality now, though? The Kages should be able to answer that. The constant fighting between the villages, the constant fight for power, wealth… All of that will no longer exist under my watch. All I need are the two remaining Jinchuurikis, Naruto and Killer Bee. Give them to me and there shall be no war and only unity."

"Bee? You already…" The Raikage started.

"No. It was a failure. He actually escaped. We are tracking him down though." Madara told the Raikage. "Quite something, isn't he? The perfect jinchuuriki and ninja."

"I will never let you capture Naruto." Gaara then said.

"Nor will I let you take Bee." The Raikage added.

"If that's you answer, then war shall be my response." Madara said as he vanished in the same fashion as Sasuke and the other one did. "Please don't say I didn't warn you."

"War, eh?" The Mizukage said.

"I guess we will have to unite as one to fight this war." Gaara said. "None of us could possibly fight against Madara on our own."

"Is the Alliance official then between the five villages?" Mifune asked.

Everybody nodded.

"Yuki, as a shinobi from Konoha, will you relay the message to the rest of the village?" The Raikage asked her. "Danzo obviously deserted the place and is guilty of something. He is no longer worthy of being your Hokage nor part of this alliance."

"Of course." Yuki replied.

They then agreed on making the Raikage the leader of the Alliance as his village still had their Jinchuuriki. As for Naruto and Bee, they suggested to hide them from the frontline of the war as it would prevent the infinite tsukuyomi from happening regardless of defeat or victory, although victory truly was the only option for survival.

"Hide them?" Yuki asked. "Knowing Naruto and Bee-sama, they would never agree to it."

"Even more of a reason to hide everything from them. I know the perfect location to put them in order to prevent them from entering the war zone." The Raikage told her.

"We don't know how long the war will go on for! They are not idiots. They'll figure out something is wrong and will head to the battlefront eventually." Yuki argued.

"Then we would have lost by then and it would be no difference." He said. "Yuki, your job is simply to relay the message, not to discuss anything."

"I… Fine." Yuki replied dryly as she bit her lip.

She knew neither would sit still knowing everyone was risking their lives for them. They would want to defend themselves. They weren't the type to be idle in front of danger. Nonetheless, the Raikage was right. She was only a messenger, not a decider. She only had the right to listen, not to speak. Gaara could tell that she was unhappy about the current situation. However, he had to agree with the Raikage. It was their best option right now. They couldn't risk losing Bee or Naruto to Madara. War was truly going to happen now. The scale of this war was bigger than any other war they've known. It was for the sake of the whole world. It was time for the world to unite together to prevent its own downfall, to protect its future. None of them could believe that it was truly about to happen. As the hours passed, it felt realer than ever. Yuki's heart felt heavy as she knew lives were going to be lost through this war. The world she once knew would never be the same again.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 58**

* * *

Thank you so much for reading this chapter.

I also wanted to thank everyone for getting me to 50 favorites on this story. It really means a lot to me.

Let me know how you are enjoying it so far.

xox

Krystal


	60. Chapter 59: To Kill or Not

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 59: To kill or not**

* * *

War. It had to happen. There was no way to go around it. Yuki dreaded having to say those words as anyone else would. However, this war was different. It wasn't for power. It was for freedom. It was for the future of the world they knew and loved. They were fighting together, not against each other. They were doing it to protect, not to destroy. It was a different kind of war. There was no wrong from their side in this war. It comforted Yuki. She quickly headed over to where Kakashi, Yamato and Naruto were resting as soon as the meeting between the five villages was over. It wasn't too far away from the Kages Summit. Gaara said he would join her there as he felt he needed to speak to Naruto as well. She flashed herself there first as she bid farewell to everyone. She wanted to let Kakashi know of everything and then head out to find Danzo. She felt that he needed to be brought out to justice for all the evil he did. When they told her about him manipulating Mifune with some sort of genjutsu, she figured that it had something to do with the fact that he had been hunting for Sharingans all his life. She believed he stole eyes from the Uchiha clan in order to gain the power himself. She needed to seek justice for the now almost exterminated clan.

As she appeared in the inn where they were resting, they seemed to have been in deep conversation with each other. Kakashi looked at her and quickly noticed that her hair had been cut much shorter. Her clothes were also dusty. Looking at the expression on her face, he knew that what she was about to say wasn't going to be quite nice to hear:

"Madara just made a declaration of war against all." She said very simply. "Danzo deserted the premises when Sasuke attacked the Kages Summit. The Alliance between the villages won't recognize him as the Hokage. They've instead decided to delegate that role to you, senpai."

"And there I thought I was going to be free from that role." Kakashi said as he sighed. "But war, eh?"

"Sasuke attacked the Kages Summit?" Naruto asked, shocked. "Why…"

"It seems like his revenge isn't actually complete."

"Then what he said…" Naruto began before glancing over at Yamato and Kakashi.

"You can say it in front of Yuki. I think she knows far more than we do about the matter." Kakashi told him.

"That masked guy we've talked to you about previously…"

"Madara." Yuki told him.

"Yeah, him. He told us about Itachi and how he sacrificed himself for the sake of the village and Sasuke."

"That is the truth."

"Then… why did Sasuke decide to attack the Kages Summit?" Naruto asked.

"I think you know the answer, Naruto." Yuki replied.

"Why didn't he return to the village instead after learning about his brother's sacrifice? He should have. Shouldn't he be protecting what his brother cherished the most?"

"It seems his answer is quite the opposite of what Itachi had wanted. He's waging war against all of us as a revenge for putting his brother in such misery his whole entire life."

"How long have you known the truth for?" Kakashi asked Yuki.

"Since Itachi left that night." Yuki answered. "Even if he fooled the entire world, I knew him well enough to conclude that he had good reasons for doing what he did. He was also the one who asked me to take care of Sasuke for him. Those few words were enough for me to understand where his heart stood."

They all went silent. It was the first time Naruto felt this way. He always loved the village so much and always felt like it couldn't do wrong. He now understood Sasuke. However, at the same time, he also disagreed with the way Sasuke was responding. Had it been Naruto, he would aim to change things in the village. He wouldn't seek its destruction nor the destruction of everything as they knew it. As much as his heart ached for Sasuke, he couldn't agree with the way he was about to handle things.

"Where is Sasuke now?" Naruto asked abruptly as he stood up from his sitting position.

"He's probably going after Danzo. I'll explain that at another time." Yuki said as she walked towards the window.

"Naruto, you are staying here." Kakashi told him as he noticed Naruto heading for the window as well. "You are in no condition to go anywhere right now. Besides, the priority now is to return to the village to relay the message to everyone and prepare ourselves for war. Let's try to catch up with Sakura and bring her back as well."

"Sakura?" Yuki asked.

"They were just here a few minutes ago." Yamato told her. "She seemed to have decided to go after Sasuke by herself. Before you arrived, Kakashi-senpai was about to go after her by himself, but I guess now we will go all together since we need to rush back to Konoha after this."

"No, stay. Naruto is still recovering. Besides, someone is coming here to talk to him. I don't know everything that was discussed at the Kages Summit either before the whole incident. He'll let you know of everything. I'll go after Sakura." Yuki said. "He's already here anyways."

She looked out the window and Gaara was indeed already there, waiting for them to come down and greet him. All of them did. Yuki gave Kakashi a quick nod before disappearing. As she reappeared, she was now in the middle of a forest facing three unconscious people and one sleeping dog. Sakura probably used some kind of poison to put them all to sleep. Yuki didn't bother waking them up. She simply summoned one of her rabbits and told him to let Kakashi know of their location while another one was summoned to guard them in case somebody would attack them. Meanwhile, she gathered enough nature energy to enter her sage mode and began searching for Sakura and Sasuke within the vicinity of the forest.

When she finally pinpointed their location, she quickly headed over. Sakura still hadn't made it to Sasuke by then. Yuki rushed ahead as she noticed that Sasuke was actually in the middle of a fight against Danzo. She wanted to stop him before Sakura would get there. She understood Sakura well. They've gotten much closer throughout the years. She might had told everyone she had made up her mind in killing Sasuke herself, but Yuki knew that she loved him too much to be truly able to do so. It would kill her inside as well if she did succeed. Furthermore, Yuki witnessed Sasuke's strength a little earlier that day with her own eyes. He wasn't going to go down easily. She feared that the one who might end up dead would be Sakura.

She finally arrived at the bridge where Danzo and Sasuke were fighting. Danzo was holding the woman who was with Sasuke at the Summit hostage. Sasuke didn't even flinch. He used his lightning release to pierce through both their body, hitting Danzo in a vital spot. He then noticed that Yuki was there and pulled away as the remaining two collapsed onto the ground. Yuki quickly headed over and brought the woman away from Danzo. Meanwhile, Sasuke had drained most of his energy and collapsed onto his knees, panting. Danzo couldn't be saved any longer even if Yuki had wanted to save him. She had no desire, however. He then revealed a seal on his body that Yuki recognized as being the Reverse Four Symbol Seal. As he released it while cursing Sasuke, Yuki realized that Sasuke couldn't move away because he was still recovering his chakra. He tried and struggled to even stand up at that point. In that moment, Yuki decided to throw her kunai towards him. She could've let Danzo kill Sasuke and things would have ended without her having to dirty her hands, but she decided to save him. As she beside him, she grabbed onto him and flashed themselves outside of the seal's range.

The seal destroyed everything within its range. The bridge they were fighting was barely still recognizable. Danzo's body was now immobile on the ground. Yuki headed over to claim it as she believed it contained plenty of secrets that shouldn't be revealed to the rest of the world. However, before she could seal it into a scroll and bring it back to Konoha, the masked man who claimed himself to be Madara appeared out of nowhere and kicked Yuki out of the way. He then transported Danzo's body into another dimension before showing further interest in Yuki.

Although the hit didn't hurt Yuki all that much, she was still shocked by his sudden appearance. As she stood up after hitting the water below the bridge, she was told by the masked man:

"I'm not here to fight you just yet."

"I'm ready though." She replied as she tied her hair into a ponytail and pulled out her katana.

"You probably already noticed but physical attacks do nothing to me. Even the Raikage couldn't land a hit." He told her. "I'm really just here to talk."

"That's unfortunate, because I don't really want to."

Sasuke then joined the masked man. He had seemingly recovered. It was perhaps like what the Mizukage had previously described: White Zetsu probably transferred him some chakra stolen from others. He looked at her and pointed his sword at her:

"Don't think for a second that I owe you my life."

"Never did, never will. I did it for Naruto and your brother. They wouldn't want you dead." She replied. "If it was only up to me, I would have let you die up there."

It wasn't the entire truth. Although she did save him for others' sake, her body also unconsciously acted to save him before her brain could justify its movement.

"Sasuke. Take care of Karin first. She knows too much. Besides, you can't fight this one in your current condition."

Sasuke glared at him angrily, but obeyed regardless as he knew that the masked man wasn't wrong. He headed for the one named Karin. Yuki tried to go after him to prevent him from killing her as she sensed that Karin was just like Sakura for some reason. She felt like Karin cared for Sasuke whole-heartedly and not many were left feeling that way about him. However, she was stopped by the masked man.

"You are not using your eyes." He told her as she took a few steps back.

She then sensed Sakura's presence. She had arrived as well and was about to witness Sasuke's murderous behavior. Yuki tried to get away from the masked man, but he kept blocking her way. His teleportation was just as quick as Yuki's and she struggled to make her way there. As she was fighting Madara, she heard Sakura telling Sasuke that she would join him. Yuki bit her lip as she knew Sakura was lying simply to get closer to Sasuke and kill him. He then told her to prove herself first by killing Karin. Sakura was no murderer. However, she kept the act going. Yuki had to stop her. As she thought about it, Kakashi suddenly appeared and allowed her to have an opening to head over to Sakura. Before she knew it, Sasuke was already trying to kill Sakura with his sword. Yuki rushed in between them just in time to stop him as Sakura fell onto her knees, realizing now who Sasuke had become.

"That was low, Sasuke." Yuki told him as they were now face to face. "Even for someone like you."

Kakashi took Sakura and Karin away and instructed her to heal the red-headed ninja as she would be able to give them intelligence about Sasuke and the masked man. Sakura was in tears, but still did as she was told. He then glared at Sasuke as his former student was now laughing maniacally.

"You both act like I still need to be taught things." He said. "I'm no longer a kid."

"And because you are no longer a kid, you have to take responsibilities for your actions." Kakashi said as he headed towards Sasuke in great speed.

Sasuke then unleashed his mangekyo sharingan once again, knowing that he would need it to fight both Kakashi and Yuki. Suddenly, he started losing balance. Yuki only realized then that the light in his eyes was starting to fade just like what had happened with Itachi's eyes. It was because he had overused those eyes. He was becoming blind. She wasn't the only one who noticed that Sasuke was losing sight. Sakura, having finished healing Karin, came back and was now trying to attack Sasuke sneakily. However, he wasn't blind to the point where he wasn't able to notice her. His other senses were still very much active. He tried to kill her a second time. Yuki jumped in and stopped him just in time, sacrificing yet again a few strands of hair. At that moment, Naruto somehow also arrived on the scene and kicked Sasuke back.

"Sasuke…" He then said as he was now standing face to face with his best friend. "You… I know everything now. I understand where you are coming from now, but this really isn't the right way…"

"What do you understand, Naruto? You've always been all by yourself. I lost everything that night because of…" Sasuke said.

"Some bad decisions made by people who didn't give a sh*t." Yuki interrupted him. "I was angry too."

"But you did nothing about it." He told her.

"Because I believed in Itachi's judgment." She replied dryly. "It was the only way to keep the honor of the Uchiha Clan."

"He was wrong." Sasuke replied angrily. "He should have fought for power. That's where true honor lies. But now, I guess it is my turn to restore that honor by destroying everything that lead to its massacre. Only then will people truly respect and honor the Uchiha clan. They will see it as a superior clan. They won't remember its failure with Itachi."

"Naruto, Sakura." Kakashi then said, saddened. "This is who Sasuke is now. I know you both wanted him to return to the village, but he only has its destruction in mind now. I don't want you both to witness this… Please… Yuki, take them both away."

"Kakashi… Don't talk as though you can defeat me now. You are no longer my superior." Sasuke said as he rushed towards them with his signature lightning technique.

Before any of them could intervene, Naruto went ahead and ran towards Sasuke with his signature rasengan. As the two techniques collided, the two of them were blasted backwards. Kakashi caught Naruto in his flight while the masked man reappeared and caught Sasuke before he could land against the rock wall behind him.

"We've got business to attend to. We won't keep you entertained any longer." He told them as he disappeared with Sasuke.

Naruto kept looking where they had disappeared. He felt like Sasuke had once again just slipped right through his fingers. There was so much that needed to be said, yet he never had the chance to and Sasuke was unwilling to listen to anything he had to say. It made him upset. He remained in silence as they walked back towards Karin to bring her back to Konoha with them. They then made their way back to the three that accompanied Sakura before she knocked them all out. They scolded her for a bit, but she was quickly forgiven. Yamato had also caught up to them. He then carried Karin on his back on their way home. Yuki and Kakashi were following the group from behind.

"You couldn't do it, eh?" Kakashi suddenly asked Yuki.

"What do you mean?" She asked him, pretending not to know what he was talking about.

He shook his head and smiled:

"I'm glad you didn't."

She smiled back, but the smile quickly disappeared. She wondered if she felt the same relief that he was feeling. She wondered if it was a mistake for her to let him live. She feared the day that she would regret it, but that was something only the future would be able to tell them.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 59**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter!

Let me know how you are feeling so far about the story!

xox

Krystal


	61. Chapter 60: The Promise of a Future

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 60: The Promise of a Future**

* * *

 **T** hey had now all returned to the village. Although nothing was quite alright, things seemed to have fallen into place. Kakashi was about to be officially appointed as the sixth Hokage. He dreaded the idea of becoming the Hokage as he didn't really believed that he was suited for the job. Meanwhile, the rest of them were once again all together and preparing themselves for the war. They also were told about Sasuke's decision to destroy the village. Kiba was angered as Naruto announced to them that he alone would be fighting Sasuke when the time came to do so.

"Naruto. Don't act like a big shot now!" He said. "We are all in this together. We will all fight him."

"No. I have my reasons for wanting to fight him." Naruto replied as he began walking away from them.

"And you can't tell us why?" Neji asked him as he stood up and was about to stop Naruto from getting away from them.

Yuki stopped him by grabbing onto his sleeve. He looked at her as she simply shook her head. Naruto walked away without looking back. He had a lot on his mind, yet nothing as well. He just wanted to grab some food. He was tired. He was tired of thinking about Sasuke. He was tired of talking about Sasuke. It didn't feel like the right time and it felt like the decision had already been made, therefore there was no need to think about it any more. As he was now out of sight, Yuki looked at the others and asked them:

"Let's just trust him, alright?"

"He's not giving me a good reason to trust him right now!" Kiba said angrily.

"When was his way ever wrong?" She then asked him. "I can't remember a time when Naruto couldn't do what he set himself out to do."

"But..." Kiba began.

"She isn't wrong. Naruto knows Sasuke best and he wants the best for the village as well." Shikamaru interrupted him. "For now, let's just believe in Naruto."

Yuki looked at him and smiled. She knew he would understand their point of view. Shikamaru was that friend that you didn't have to say much for him to understand you. He liked things that were simple, things that weren't complicated. As long as it didn't have to be complicated, he kept it that way. He also trusted Naruto much more than the others. He had been observing him for a while now and saw the same things that Yuki saw in Naruto.

At the corner of her eyes, Yuki noticed that Sakura was looking down onto the ground. She had guilt written all over her face. Sakura had been feeling helpless and guilty since she returned to the village. She felt like she was once again just a burden to Naruto. She also felt guilty for not trusting the rest of them when they were all there to help her. She also felt guilty for lying to Naruto about how she felt. She felt bad for not believing in him when he said that he would bring Sasuke home and that he saw Sasuke as his own brother. She felt unworthy of Naruto's friendship and love. Although Naruto never blamed her, she couldn't help but feel like she had caused him so much pain. Yuki walked over to Sakura and placed her hand on her shoulder as a mean to comfort her. She looked at Yuki and smiled before walking away as well. Sakura was probably heading towards Tsunade's tent as she needed to share her feelings with her mentor whether she could hear her or not.

As all of them started going their own ways as they needed to prepare for the upcoming war, Yuki decided to head to the interrogation department as they were probably now questioning Karin. She couldn't help but be curious about that woman and the information that she could provide them with. As she made her way there, Neji decided to walk with her until she made it to her destination before going back home to his clan for a meeting that was planned later that day.

"It's crazy how peaceful it is right now in the village while war is just at our doorstep." He said.

"The calm before the storm. It's scary, isn't it?" She said as she sighed.

"It's not as scary since we are all in this together." He said.

"You are right. At least, we are not fighting alone."

"We are definitely not alone." He replied as he grabbed her hand and looked away as his cheeks turned red.

It was the first time they walked hand in hand. Yuki couldn't help but to smile. It was in these moments that she forgot that war was even going to be happening. It felt so natural to be around him. It felt like this was the life she had to be leading. It felt right. Although her heart would always race when they were together, it also put her mind at ease. She felt relaxed with him there. She felt warm inside. He felt the same way. Although he was always a little nervous of showing and expressing his love for her, it reassured him that he wasn't going to regret it in the future. He gave her everything he could and that was all he felt was needed.

"I've been meaning to ask you..." He then started saying before feeling his throat tightening up.

They stopped walking. He grabbed her other hand and they were now standing face to face. Yuki couldn't help but feel nervous about what he was about to ask her. As their eyes met for a second, they couldn't help looking away almost immediately. He coughed and took a deep breath before continuing:

"I think it's no secret that I have feelings for you... I mean... Umm..."

He stopped for a few seconds to calm himself down. He didn't know this was going to make him so nervous. At that moment, he would rather have a blade against his neck than have to continue speaking about his feelings. He took another deep breath and then looked her into the eyes and said:

"I know this is the worst timing ever as we are about to go to war, but I felt like if I didn't tell you now and if I never got the chance to tell you again, I would regret it on my deathbed."

"Please don't talk as if you are going to die." Yuki said.

She hated the thought of war because she was afraid that the people she cared about the most wouldn't return. She knew she wouldn't be able to live on if anything happened to them. As much as she knew that was the reality of war, she didn't want to hear about it nor think about it. It wasn't something she could handle at the moment. She especially did not want to hear that from him.

"I'll try my best not to. I feel like you are the one who should be promising me that though. We all know how reckless you are." He replied as he was seemingly more relaxed now.

Yuki smiled at that comment. He definitely wasn't wrong. She was indeed the one who, too often, risked her life during those kinds of situation. She had already died once in similar circumstances. He wasn't wrong to assume that something similar could happen.

"But back to what I wanted to say to you..." He started again, much more serious now. "I... If... Let's make it back together home."

"Home?" She then asked him, not fully understanding the meaning behind it.

She was certain that he wasn't just speaking of Konohagakure. If that was the case, he wouldn't be so bashful about it. Deep down, she knew what he meant, but she wanted that meaning to be clear. She didn't want to just assume things.

"When we make it out alive, let's build a home together. I know how much you struggled to find a place to call home. I want to someone who can make this place a home for you... I... I want a future with you."

Yuki stood there frozen. _Home_. It was something she hadn't thought about in a long time as things were quite chaotic in the village. She forgot what it meant to call a place home. She was then reminded of the Third and how he asked her to seek out its meaning. Her eyes started filling up with tears. She wasn't feeling sad as she was reminded of his death. They were tears of joy. He once told her home where was her heart would be. She finally understood it. She finally found it. She never actually loved the village. Therefore, despite returning it after having the possibility of leaving it forever, she couldn't really call it home. However, she now found someone who would make it feel like home. He was standing right in front of her. He was holding her hands and keeping her heart warm. As her lips trembled, Neji was alarmed by her tears and reaction. He quickly wiped away the tears from her face and apologized:

"I'm sorry! I... You don't have to feel like you have to have a future with me. I'm so sorry... I just..."

"Why are you apologizing?" She asked him with a smile on her face. "I... Who said I didn't want to share my future with you?"

He was taken aback by her answer. Although he sensed that they mutually had feelings for each other, he was always scared that she didn't see him the same way that he perceived her. He smiled before taking her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Do you really mean it?" He asked her.

"You are suffocating me... I might have to rethink this."

"I'm sorry!" He said as he let go. "I... I really didn't know how to bring this up to you as I was unsure about how you felt about us. I'm really happy you feel the same way I do. I... I'm so relieved now. I feel like I can breathe again. Do you know how scary it is to confess to someone? It is so much scarier than having to think about a war."

"You didn't actually confess though..." Yuki said teasingly.

He smiled as he looked away, scratching the back of his head. Yuki looked at him and smiled, loving the way he looked when he felt embarrassed about something. He then pulled out a necklace from around his neck. He took it off and put it around Yuki's neck. It was delicate and elegant. It was a silver chain with a single clear crystal as a pendant. It was the clearest crystal Yuki had ever seen.

"I've always worn this necklace ever since I was born. I was told that it was my mother's. She wanted it to be a gift to the one I would fall in love with and who would be willing to share the rest of her life with me. I..."

Yuki stopped him from talking anymore as she kissed him on the lips as she closed her eyes and tears of joy rolled down her cheeks once again. He brought his hands to her face as he kissed her back. It was their first kiss. As the sun was caressing their faces with warmth, their love for each other was caressing their hearts with warmth. They were both once so lonely. They had now found each other in this chaotic time and promised each other to be there for each other through their highs and lows. They found someone who would be able to fill up all the emptiness they once had. They weren't just merely living for the sake of living. They now had a reason to live on. They were each other's reason. In that moment, they didn't want to let go of the other. They knew too well that such peaceful time was going to be hard to come by again. In that moment, they had no responsibilities, no role, no worries. There was no war, no conflict, no danger. They only had each other and their love to care for. In that moment, it was their happy ending. It was their moment and nothing could take that away from them.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 60**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter!

Hope you enjoyed it!

xox

Krystal


	62. Chapter 61: Battle Plan

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 61: Battle Plan**

* * *

 **S** he often forgot war was about to happen. When she was with him, she didn't have to think about anything else. Her worries simply vanished. Although she was preparing for war, she felt happy at the thought that this would allow them to eventually live a peaceful life with each other in this place she could truly call home. The day he gave her the necklace, she went to visit the Third's tomb and told him how happy she felt and that she now understood the value and meaning of a home. She believed he was watching her and was smiling at the sight of her happiness.

Neji was relieved he expressed everything he felt to her. He no longer felt like there would be regrets on his death bed if that was to happen. He didn't want to think about death as he wanted to have a long life with Yuki. They had already missed out on so much time during their youth. Once the war was going to be over, he wanted to do just everyday things with her, whether it was cooking a meal together and taking walks at sunset and admiring the beauty of the village under a pink sky. He wanted simple things that were unattainable for them at the moment.

Yuki also told Kakashi about it. Although they weren't family, he always felt like an uncle to her. She was actually much closer to him than to Asuma. Kakashi was sincerely happy for her as he knew how much she struggled with finding a place to call home. He was also very happy that she knew how to smile, not with just her lips, but with a heart. He, on the other hand, was dreading becoming the sixth Hokage. Everyday, he would pray that Tsunade would wake up from her coma. Yuki wished for the same. It wasn't that she didn't believe Kakashi would be a great Hokage. She knew he would be fit for the job. It was simply because she really wanted Tsunade to wake up. It had been too long already.

As the village was still undergoing a lot of changes and repairs, Yuki was told to represent the village at the next meeting between the Kages to decide on how they were going to organize the shinobis into battle squads. Shikaku had devised a very well thought out plan, but was busy with handling the current state in the village. He entrusted all the information to Yuki and Shikamaru who were in charge of sharing all of it with the Alliance. As she left the village that day with Shikamaru, she finally told him about her and Neji.

"It was about time!" He exclaimed, genuinely happy for the two of them. "No wonder you looked so happy the past few days."

"Is it that obvious?" She asked him, blushing slightly.

"I would be lying if I said no. Even Sai, who is usually so clueless about how people felt, could tell there was something going on."

"Oh god..." Yuki mumbled.

"How many hearts are you breaking by accepting Neji's heart?" Shikamaru teased her.

She pouted as she disliked it when he would tease her.

"It's nice to hear some good news during such times." He then said, serious once again. "I've never thought I would live to see a war happening."

"Neither did I." Yuki said as she sighed.

As they now entered an area close enough to Kumogakure, Yuki asked Shikamaru to hold on to her hand as she transported both of them into the village to meet with the other Kages. They appeared right in the middle of the Raikage's office.

"Damn it, Yuki! Of all the habits you could have gotten into in this village, you pick to not use the door just like me!" The Raikage scolded her the moment she appeared.

She smiled sweetly before saying, teasingly:

"At least I don't break anything in the process..."

He looked at her for second before breaking into a laughter. He truly did see her as a daughter. There was something about Yuki that made the usually stoic and inflexible Raikage into someone who knew how to compromise. Gaara also gave Yuki a nod as he acknowledged her appearance at the Kages' meeting. Temari quickly looked at Shikamaru, but then her eyes moved quickly in the opposite directions as he looked back at her. Yuki couldn't help but chuckle. It was something she could use to tease Shikamaru. After all he said about her and Neji, it was time he had a taste of his own medicine. Yuki always knew there was something going on between the two of them, but she didn't dare to rush to conclusion. Their awkwardness that day made everything clear to her.

As they all took place around the table, the Tsuchikage then started asking Yuki:

"Why isn't the Hokage here to discuss things with us? Why is it you again?"

"Tsuchikage-sama," Yuki began. "The current state of our village is such that the Hokage-to-be has to remain there to discuss his appointment as the Hokage while learning everything there is to becoming a Hokage. Furthermore, we are still hoping that our Godaime would wake up from her coma and actually be reinstated as it would make things much easier for everyone in the village. I promise you that we are in this 100%, if that is what you are worried about."

"I wasn't implying..." He then replied slowly before stopping himself.

She wasn't wrong. The Tsuchikage didn't trust the fact that the Head of Konohagakure wasn't present at the meeting yet again. He was left under the impression that they were keeping things from the other Kages. However, the Raikage and Kazekage both fully trusted Yuki as they knew her well. The Head of Iwagakure had no other choice really but to blindly put his faith in them. The Mizukage didn't seem to mind Yuki. In fact, she often complimented her on how smart she was or how mature she was for her age.

As they went through their plans for the war, Shikamaru was a standout character as he explained the role of each platoon in the clearest and most concise way possible while detailing the strengths and weaknesses of each and the types of shinobis that should be in each of those platoons.

"We need to decide who would be the leader of each of these divisions." Shikamaru then told them. "This will allow each division to work among themselves to ensure efficacy and efficiency as each division will be a mixture of all the villages' shinobis."

"I'm guessing you have a few people in mind already to lead certain divisions." Gaara told him.

"Going through all the data that were provided to us, we do have a few suggestions as to who should become commander of certain divisions. Because most people are here, if you don't mind, I would like to tell you who we think should lead what."

"Go ahead." The Raikage told Shikamaru. "So far, your village has done a great job at planning this all out. Your father, you said, right?"

"Yes, Raikage-sama. Speaking of him, this is a personal choice of ours, but we would like to nominate Nara, Shikaku as the chief strategist who will be staying at the headquarters with you and the rest of the Kages to devise plans of attacks and defense." Shikamaru said as he exchanged looks with Yuki who nodded in agreement.

"I think that's only fair since he came up with this plan." The Mizukage said as she looked at the Tsuchikage who seemingly was still doubting Konohagakure.

However, the rest of them agreed to it without hesitation as they all were impressed with how well the divisions were planned out in such short time and took into account all the shinobis from each other the villages.

"At the headquarters, the intelligence and sensory division will also be present in order to relay the messages between the battlefield and the headquarter itself. Based on the skill set of each these individuals, we decided that for the intelligence division Yamanaka Inoichi from Konohagakure should be in captain and Ao from Kirigakure should be in charge of the sensory division." Yuki continued.

"Another captain from Konohagakure?" The Tsuchikage asked, raising his eyebrow.

"He can transmit information telepathically within seconds." Yuki answered dryly as she was now annoyed by the Tsuchikage constant poke at Konohagakure. "We tried to pick out the best people for the job."

"Tsuchikage." The Raikage then intervened. "Why don't you listen until the end before making any further comments."

"I... Fine."

"As for the surprise attack division, it is a smaller team, but it is still in need of a captain. Kankuro, here, would be perfect for that role." Yuki then said as she looked at Kankuro.

"Isn't he a little young to be a captain?" The Raikage asked.

"I believe he has enough experience to be the captain of the surprise attack division. I've known him long enough to vouch for his skills."

"Thanks, Yuki." Kankuro said to her as it was also his way of agreeing to the job that was assigned to him.

"There's also the logistical support and medical division that should be established. We believed that Shizune from Konohagakure, having learned from Tsunade-sama all her life about medical ninjutsu, should be the captain of that division." Yuki continued.

"She is indeed the best person for that role." The Raikage quickly said as he wanted to stop the Tsuchikage from interrupting their conversation once again.

"Finally, we now have to talk about the main battle regiment where most of the shinobis will be assigned." Shikamaru then continued. "The First Division, as we explained, will be consisting of mid-range fighters. We thought that Darui from Kumogakure would be the best man for the job. Yuki told us a lot about your abilities and how much trust you have from the Raikage, who is, after all, our commander in chief."

"Darui, don't disappoint us." The Raikage told him as he gave his a strong pat on the shoulder.

Darui sighed before nodding nonchalantly. Yuki smiled at him, knowing that he often felt like he was lacking in terms of leadership. However, she truly believed he was the best man for the job. She knew he had the calm and composure a captain needed to have during a war such as this one.

"As for the Second Division, the short-range fighters, will be lead by Kitsuchi of Iwagakure." Shikamaru continued. "I think nobody would disagree to that."

He was slightly poking at the Tsuchikage with that comment as nobody, so far, has disagreed with the decisions that were made. Putting someone from his village as a captain should ease the Tsuchikage a little bit, especially it being one of the larger divisions they had.

"The Third Division is the short to mid-range fighters. Kakashi will be leading that division."

"Isn't he one of the Kages though?" The Mizukage asked.

"Kakashi-senpai requested to be at the battlefront." Yuki explained. "Not only would it be beneficial to the Allied Shinobis to have him on field, but he personally asked to be there. He said that he isn't suited to be sitting in a headquarter awaiting for news to come back to him. He isn't used to that life just yet."

No one added anything to it. They knew of Kakashi's reputation as a shinobi. There was no doubt that having him fight would better their chances at winning the war. He was able to fight like 100 men. Even though his new status should prevent him from risking his life, his personal decision ensured an increase in numbers for success rate.

"As for the Fourth Division, the long-range division..." Shikamaru started.

"I want to take charge of that division." Gaara told them. "I'm also not able to sit still when others are fighting. Furthermore, we are fighting this battle to protect one of my friends."

"I knew you were going to say that so I recommended to Shikaku to make you the captain of that division." Yuki told him with a smile. "I was sure you wouldn't be able to sit still."

"Thanks." Gaara replied with a smile on his face as well.

He was happy to know that she still understood him so well after so many years of being apart from each other. Despite all the changes that they had underwent the mutual understanding and respect they had for each other remained. Although he knew that she didn't necessarily feel the exact same thing about him, at least, she could understand him, see through his eyes and walk in his shoes.

"For the Fifth Division, which is the special battle division, we thought it would be best to hand that division to Mifune." Yuki said now looking at the older samurai whose experience was written all over his face through the wrinkles that were now permanent.

"It would be my honor to help fight this war." He said politely.

"Finally, the Daimyos also have to be protected during this war."

"They wouldn't take anything less than a Kage to protect them." The Mizukage said. "Why don't I take the role of the captain of that platoon that will protect them? Although I must say that I'm not too pleased with the idea of protecting them rather than focusing all our energy into fighting the Akatsukis..."

"I cannot say that I disagree." Yuki said. "However, we cannot allow them to fall into the Akatsukis' hands either as they aren't exactly the courageous type who wouldn't reveal anything. Furthermore, this Alliance was granted by them. The least we can do is to ensure that they lived, right?"

"As cold as ever." Shikamaru said with a smirk.

They, then, handed them a list of all the shinobis that were going to fight in the war and their respective assigned division. The captains, therefore, would be allowed to contact their team members to set up a plan or discuss how they would be performing their tasks.

"I don't see your name on any of the lists." The Raikage told Yuki.

"I forgot to tell everyone about my role." Yuki said as she scratched the back of her head. "I've worked hard to mastered my teleportation technique and therefore I will be assisting every division as needed and also providing backup to each division as needed. You can consider me as a first aid kit."

"Wouldn't that waste a lot of chakra though?" Darui asked her. "I remember that you had certain limitations when it came to using that technique."

"I said I pretty much mastered it, didn't I?" Yuki said. "Once I've entered the Sage Mode, I am granted much more chakra and can therefore teleport greater distances and much more often. Obviously, nobody has unlimited energy, not even the nature, but it should be enough for emergency cases."

"Just don't overdo it." The Raikage told her. "Know your limits. Ask for help. You always forget to do so and take everything into your own hands when there are hands reaching out to you."

"I will try to remember those words, Raikage-sama." Yuki told him as she stood up, noticing a hawk flying towards them.

It was one of the hawks from Konohagakure that could fly miles at the speed of light. It had to be an emergency from the village. She walked over to the window and held her arm out as the hawk gently landed on it. She took the message out from its basket and read it. A smile drew itself on her face as she started tearing up out of joy.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked as he made his way over to her.

"Tsunade-sama... She's awake. We have our Godaime back!" Yuki said as she hugged Shikamaru out of joy.

"Don't let Neji know about this..." He whispered into her ear, jokingly.

She pushed him away quickly, pouting. How could he think of such a thing at such a time? She never understood how Shikamaru's mind worked sometimes. Yet, she felt like they each other better than any other two people she had ever met. She simply shook her head as she walked over to the other Kages telling them the good new and that Tsunade would be heading over soon to finish all the discussions as they were to return to the village and prepare themselves for the fight that was about to come.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 61**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter!

It was a little bit more of a filler chapter as it prepares us to enter the final arc of the story.

I hope you are enjoying it so far.

Let me know in the comments section!

xox

Krystal


	63. Chapter 62: Reminiscing

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 62:** **Reminiscing**

* * *

 **A** s she entered back into Konohagakure with Shikamaru, she quickly headed over to Tsunade's tent to greet her mentor. She rushed inside without announcing herself first, only to find Tsunade stuffing her face with food, trying to make up for all the time she hadn't eaten. Even though she was occupied by food, as soon as she saw Yuki at the entrance of her tent, Tsunade stood up and embraced Yuki into her arms. The last thing Tsunade remembered being entering her coma state was seeing Yuki betting stabbed by Pain. Although she heard that everybody was resurrected after the village's destruction, she couldn't help but to see that scene over and over again. Seeing Yuki well made those images disappear from Tsunade's mind. She could now rest assured that Yuki was truly safe and sound.

"I was honestly so scared, Yuki. Honestly, unless you know the Mitotic Regeneration technique, you really shouldn't put yourself in such dangerous situation." She told Yuki.

"I wasn't taught that technique, unfortunately, nor do I have the finesse to master it. I guess I will just have to rely on your amazing medical ninjutsu to make it out alive." Yuki replied as they both grabbed a sit at the table filled with food. "How's the recovery going?"

"Eh, you know me. I just need to eat really. Sakura and Shizune have been by my side since I've awaken from my coma. I think they believe I could re-enter that state if they don't keep an eye one me. I kinda wish I was though... This war sounds like a pain."

"Tsunade-sama, about that, I was going to give you a quick rundown of everything that have been discussed up to date during the Kages' meeting." Yuki said, now, with a serious tone. "I was going to wait until you fully felt better, but..."

"It's happening too soon for us to delay anything else. Just talk while I'm eating. I'm listening." She replied as she picked her chopsticks.

Yuki went over the details of what had happened at the Kages' summit from what was said to what had happened to Danzo and Sasuke. Furthermore, she shared the fact that the other Kages felt like Naruto should be hidden away along with Bee as they were the missing puzzle pieces to Madara's plan. She also went over the plan that Shikaku had devised for the Alliance including all the different divisions and who was to be leading each of those divisions. As she finished, Tsunade sighed and put her chopsticks down. She grabbed her jacket and wrapped it around her shoulder and walked towards the exit of the tent. She had rested long enough. It was time for her to step back into the role of the Hokage. She had to shoulder once again the burden of being the Hokage.

"Yuki, if you can, don't let responsibilities bind you. Be as free as you possibly can, because that's the world I am fighting for you to live in."

"Tsunade-sama..." Yuki began as she wasn't too sure how to respond to that.

Tsunade walked towards where everyone was gathering to discuss the war. She readied herself to go meet with the other Kages as well. She didn't want Yuki to tag along despite knowing that Yuki already knew a lot about this war. She wanted Yuki to enjoy whatever was left of her freedom as a child before she had to bear the burden of the war along with everybody else. She wished they didn't have to rely on such young people to fight for them. Tsunade believed that this war was caused the mistakes of older generations and that the younger ones now had to share the burden with her generation. She felt guilty for such a thing to have happened even though it really wasn't her fault. Yuki didn't argue. She wanted Tsunade to be at ease as much as possible. She decided to simply agree with whatever Tsunade had decided. She stayed in the village, helping the others prepare for the war that was approaching at great speed.

* * *

 **T** heir Hokage had now returned from the last meeting before the big day. She didn't look too please with the decisions that were made at the meeting. She called Yuki into her office along with some other trusted people, those being Kakashi, Shizune, Sakura, Yamato, Shikamaru and Iruka. They were the people she believed she could talk to the best about the current situation.

"They want us to hide Naruto and Bee." She told them. "I know it doesn't come as a surprise, but I really thought I could convince them otherwise."

"Knowing Naruto, he will definitely not sit still." Kakashi said as the others nodded in agreement.

"We are in an alliance after all. We can't make any decisions based on what we believe is right and wrong, nor can we let Naruto do as he pleases." Tsunade said as she sighed. "We are going to have to trick Naruto somehow."

"Just give him some sort of mission that requires him to be wherever he needs to be." Shikamaru said.

"Naruto told me just the other day that he was given a prophecy by the Great Lord Elder that he would be meeting an octopus who would guide him." Yuki said. "We could also just tell him that he is meeting Bee-sama who is that octopus."

"That should work, right?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura smiled and nodded:

"Naruto is easy to fool when it comes to these things."

"Yamato, you are in charge of escorting Naruto to the location where we have agreed on to keep him at. Form whatever team you think is best for the mission." Tsunade then commanded. "Yuki, place a seal on Naruto just in case he finds out and decides to escape. That way, you can go teleport yourself wherever he is and stop him. The rest, let everybody know of the plan without Naruto finding out anything."

"Yes!" They all answered in unison.

As they left the Hokage's tent, Yuki headed straight to where she knew she would find Naruto, the Ichiraku Ramen stand. They had set up and temporary one while waiting for their store to be rebuilt. Naruto had been eating there the last few days as he loved their ramen the best. She did indeed find him there, slurping in his noodles. She placed her hand on his back, ensuring that the seal was placed properly. He turned around with his face stuffed towards her, finally noticing her presence. He didn't doubt a thing. He swallowed whatever was in his mouth and smiled at her:

"Are you hungry too?"

"You still owe me a ramen, ya know?"

"What do you mean?"

"Was it the day you became a genin? We had ramen together..."

"And I promised that once I started working as a shinobi I would treat you, right?" He asked her. "I always remember my promises."

"Ha, I think you actually forgot it for a second there."

He smiled, guilty of such forgetfulness. He then asked her to order and that it would be his treat today. Yuki smiled and accepted gratefully. As they waited for the ramen to come out, the smell made Naruto want another bowl and, so, he did order a second bowl. They were now both waiting for their meal to be ready.

"I figured out who the octopus was." Yuki told him as she took a sip of her water. "If I'm not mistaken, it's Kumogakure's jinchuuriki. His name is Bee."

"Bee is an octopus?" Naruto asked as his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Not exactly. He's a human, but his tailed-beast is the Hachibi and possesses eight tails like an octopus."

"I see." Naruto said as their bowls of ramen arrived. "How am I going to meet him then?"

"I've already talked to Tsunade. They've arranged for you to meet him on this island where he is resting right now. I think it will be good for you to talk to him and ask him to teach you how to control the tailed-beast chakra." She replied as she took a sip of the rich broth.

"But the war is about to happen..." He started.

"The reason why we picked that island is because of a mission as well. I don't know the details, but you'll be heading out there with Yamato. He'll let you know of the mission once he's gather a team for it." She said without hesitation.

"I see. Awesome!" Naruto said as he started eating his ramen. "I can't wait to meet this octopus!"

As he slurped his noodles in endlessly, Yuki looked at him, thinking about how naive Naruto was. He didn't doubt the mission or the situation for even a second. He simply accepted it without question. Yuki couldn't help but smile at his innocence. She found it incredible that despite all that had happened, he remained so unaffected by the lies and betrayals. He was simple. It was his charm. He didn't over complicate things. If they did get complicated, he would just deal with them then. If the present was simple, he let it be. If the future was complicated, he would tackle the problem then only. Yuki truly admired that about Naruto.

As she was down to her last bite, Naruto paid for their meal and they both stood up and walked away from the stand, full and satisfied. It was already night time. The moon shone brightly on the village. Yuki couldn't help but wonder if she would be able to see the sky in a such a way again. Their future was so uncertain. As she began feeling like she was falling into her old ways of overthinking, she grabbed onto the necklace that Neji gave her as a promise for a better future together. She had to stop thinking that it might not happen. She wanted to choose to believe in it despite the chances of it not ever happening. She had to. It made her feel alive.

"Eh? Is that what I think it is?" Naruto asked with a smirk on his face.

"What?"

"I heard that Neji gave you something as an engagement gift..." He said mischievously.

She quickly put the necklace inside her shirt and looked away as she sensed her cheeks turning red.

"So it is!" Naruto said excitingly. "I'm so happy for the two of you."

"We are not engaged..." Yuki denied. "It's just a gift..."

"To remind you that you belong with each other." He said, chuckling.

Yuki glared at him, annoyed that he too was teasing her about Neji.

"But seriously, though. I'm really happy for the both of you. I think he needed someone like you in his life, as you need someone like him in your life as well." Naruto then said in a serious tone. "I know what it is like to be lonely as well. I know how nice it is to feel like you belong somewhere."

"Well look at you sounding so wise." Yuki said as they began walking home.

"Is that how I sound like? I'm just happy neither of you will be lonely from now on." Naruto said as the biggest smile drew itself on his face.

"Thanks." Yuki replied, also smiling.

As they reached the fork that lead them in different direction, they wished each other goodnight. Yuki wondered around the village for a bit, thinking about Naruto's words. She wouldn't be lonely again, he said. _I guess he could feel my loneliness all this time_. She thought to herself. She always believed she hid it well from people, but she was surprised to hear that someone as aloof as Naruto knew of her loneliness. He had a lot more empathy than she thought he possessed. As much as she was happy to think that she would no longer be lonely with Neji by her side, the thought of potentially being alone some day scared her. She, now, knew the joy of having someone by her side and in her heart. If he ever was gone, she would be hurt even more so than before. She shook her head at that thought, trying to get rid of such negative thoughts.

"Just finished talking to Naruto?" A familiar voice asked her.

She was about to turn around, but, before she could, she was given the most comforting back hug. She placed her hands on his and simply stood there for a bit without saying anything. They didn't have to do much whenever they were together to feel good. They hadn't been able to spend that much time with each other as they grew busier and busier each day with the war preparations.

"I haven't seen your face for a few days now." He said as he spun her around to look at her.

"It's been crazy around here, hasn't it?" She asked him as they were now walking hand in hand around the village.

"Our clan has been meeting every single day, trying to convince Hinata's father to not join the battlefront. He refuses to listen. I've told him that Hanabi is still young and that she couldn't afford to lose her father. He refused to listen."

"He would never accept to let his family members risk their lives while he sat at home safely. Especially when both you and Hinata are going to be fighting in this war."

"I understand his point of view, but..."

"It isn't like it used to be. You know that. This isn't about protecting the main branch of the family anymore. This is about protecting the future of this world. To him, you and Hinata are the future."

"You are right. Things are really different now. I can't even remember the time when I resented the main family."

"It's good that you forgot those bad emotions and memories."

"I'm glad I did. Everything I do now is because I want to do them. It isn't out of duty or anything. I protect our clan because I want to preserve our roots, not because I was cursed into doing it."

"Like you ever tried to actually protect the main family before that." Yuki said mockingly.

"What?"

"Did you forget our first Chunin exam when you tried to kill Hinata?"

"I... Those were dark times for me." He said as his tone was filled with guilt.

Yuki laughed before hugging him to make him feel better.

"I remember really hating you at that moment."

"Really?"

"I was so angry that someone I thought of as friend could be so cold and ruthless towards his own family. I, honestly, wanted nothing to do with you at that very moment."

Neji chuckled. He was relieved that those times were behind them now. They could now laugh when talking about those events. Resentments were no longer present. They were now immature actions they could poke fun at. He never actually gave it much thought, but Yuki, indeed, had many reasons to dislike the old Neji. He didn't care about the people around him if he didn't feel like they were on the same level as he was. He dragged his hatred for one person onto another. He never tried to take his own destiny into his own hands. He was so glad he changed for the better.

"What are you two lovebirds doing up so late at night?" A nonchalant voice asked them.

"I could ask you the same thing." Yuki murmured inaudibly while moving her lips in such way that anybody could tell what she was saying.

Shikamaru and Temari were walking towards them. Shikamaru glared at Yuki while shaking his head at her. Temari was often in the village with Shikamaru discussing about their own division and how to organize it in the best possible way to ensure everyone's safety and victory. Temari smiled at Yuki noticing that she seemed really happy despite everything that was happening around them. Since Yuki's stay in Sunagakure a few years back, Temari has always seen Yuki as a younger sister to care for despite their similar age. It was her motherly side that made her that way. Although she always wished Yuki and Gaara would end up together, she was happy to see Yuki finding someone with whom she could share her life with.

"He's sending me off to Sunagakure." Temari explained.

"Of course he has to!" Yuki said cheerfully pushing Shikamaru closer towards Temari.

He tried resisting her push, but he lost balance and took a few steps towards Temari who chose to ignore the whole thing. She was blushing though. Yuki could tell despite it being night time. She always liked Shikamaru. There was something about his nonchalant ways that attracted her. She was always impressed with how smart he was as well. Somebody with that kind of brain rarely came around. She, herself, was a bright kunoichi whose intelligence surpassed most. It was only natural for her to be attracted to Shikamaru's intelligence.

"I'm off then. I'll see you all soon." Temari said as she turned her back to them and started walking out of Konohagakure.

"Already? But the night is still so young." Yuki said teasingly.

Temari just silently waved goodbye as she kept walking. Yuki watched her disappear into the darkness of the night as she wondered if they would be able to talk to each other again in such manner any time soon. Every time she started reassuring herself that all would end well, she would face a situation that made her long for the peaceful days and fear that those days would no longer be existent. Yuki had never wanted to live more than these last few days. She wanted her life more than ever before. She needed it. However, life was now more fragile than ever.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 62**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter!

Hope you are enjoying everything so far!

xox

Krystal


	64. Chapter 63: On Mark, Set, Go

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 63: On Mark, Set, Go**

* * *

 **I** ntel kept pouring into the village and it was difficult to go through everything in detail. Konohagakure was lucky that they had many brains that could go through of the information that was given to them. They would then summarize everything and hand the information to Shikaku who would figure out the best way to fight the enemy. Although Yuki was well aware of his intelligence, she couldn't help but be impressed by Shikamaru's father.

Eventually, every fighting shinobi was to travel to the Land of Lightning where the operation base of the alliance was located. The warriors began bidding their farewell to their families as they were unsure whether they would return to see them once again. There was no fear in their heart, only pride and hope. They knew what they had to do. There was no other option, therefore, there was no fear.

Konohamaru was saying goodbye to Yuki. He was tearing up, but he kept all his tears in as he knew this wasn't the time to be weak. Yuki gave him a long hug and told him:

"I promised you I wouldn't leave you, remember? So don't you worry." She said.

"Yuki-niichan, just be careful." Konohamaru said as he was sniffling.

"I will. And you, you protect this village for me while we are gone. Especially Mirai and Kurenai... They are our only family left." Yuki reminded him.

He nodded as he wiped away whatever tears were left in the corner of his eyes. She patted his head one last time before walking towards Neji who was saying goodbye to Hanabi and the rest of the kids from his clan. Hanabi sneaked behind Yuki and gave her a hug while whispering to her:

"You need to come back and join our family soon..."

Yuki chuckled and turned towards her, smiling. Neji seemed to have heard Hanabi's comment and blushed as he looked away. He then grabbed Yuki by the wrist and pulled her away from the crowd. He looked at her in the eyes and hesitated saying something.

"I guess we also should say our farewell..." Yuki started instead as she could tell he didn't know how to bring it up.

"I guess." He repeated.

He then pulled her in closer and gave her a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back tightly. As they savored the last few seconds of peace they had together, Yuki then heard a voice telling her:

"Yuki, they are in trouble on the island where Naruto is."

It was Inoichi from the headquarters letting her know of any trouble stirring up. Yuki wanted to ignore her responsibilities at that very moment but she knew she couldn't. She pushed Neji slowly away and told him reluctantly:

"Duty calls."

"Already?" He asked, saddened by the fact that their little moment got cut short.

He let her go, knowing that this was no longer the time to hold on to her. They weren't fools. They knew what was at stake. They knew She simply nodded and turned her back to him before trying to communicate with Inoichi again.

"Sorry." He told her. "It's just that the Akatsuki are now attacking where Bee and Naruto are hidden right now. One of them was hiding within the Samehada that Bee now carries and he managed to deliver their location to the Akatsuki."

"Kisame?" Yuki then asked surprised as she thought he was dead a little while back.

"To be exact, one of his shark delivered the message as he is now dead." Inoichi explained. "Right now, Kabuto and Deidara are attacking them. Yamato is having some difficulty fending them off by himself..."

Before he could finish, Yuki flashed herself to Yamato. She was greeted with Deidara's bombs. She dodged them all and headed to where Yamato was as she sighed.

"So that's one of those reincarnation thing, right?" She asked.

"Yeah. We landed an attack earlier on him, but he just repairs himself almost spontaneously." Yamato told her.

"The only way to get him is to seal him." Yuki explained. "I didn't realize they kept their original abilities though. Plus, I'm guessing they don't have to infuse chakra, therefore they won't ever be exhausted, right?"

"That is fair to assume." Yamato said as they separated to not get bombed by Deidara.

As she moved further away, she, then, sensed another chakra appearing. As she looked around to search for the source of chakra that she had just sensed, a large purple snake appeared from the sky and almost landed on her. Yuki barely managed to get herself out of area in time. It looked like Manda, but Yuki knew it couldn't be as Manda was rumored to have died. This one was also much larger than the snake she remembered to have heard and read about. On his head, she noticed a small hooded figure. She focused enough to tell that it was emitting Orochimaru's chakra. Again, she knew it couldn't have been Orochimaru as he was confirmed dead.

"Kabuto!" Yuki said as she assumed the only other person who could possibly have Orochimaru's chakra was someone who was close enough to him to gather his cells and mutate himself into Orochimaru.

He pulled down his hood and grinned at Yuki. He was seemingly impressed that she recognized him despite the changes he had undergone.

"I must say, Yuki-san, I'm constantly surprised at how smart and strong you are."

"I heard rumors that you had become a monster. Now that I can see you myself, I must admit that those rumors weren't wrong."

"I thought you were more open-minded than that." Kabuto responded as he started moving his neck in a snake like manner. "I thought you would at least appreciate my growth."

Before she could respond to him, the snake attacked her and she moved out of the way again. She closed her eyes for a second and unleashed her sharingan as she believed it was the best way to cause the least disturbances while being able to control the creature that was in front of her. Kabuto didn't stay longer to chat with her. Instead, he was heading towards Yamato. Yuki placed herself in a manner that the snake would look straight into her eyes. She then put it under a genjutsu. It stopped moving and collapsed onto the ground as it began snoring. She quickly headed over to where Yamato was only to realize in horror that Kabuto was now swallowing him up. Wriggling away from them, Kabuto managed to escape into the large sleeping snake and they both disappeared as he had reversed summon themselves to some unknown area. Deidara had also disappeared.

"Damn it..." Yuki mumbled.

She tried to teleport herself to Yamato as she knew he carried an item with her seal on it, but as she did, she was teleported to the exact spot where he was eaten by Kabuto. She picked up the kunai that had her seal on it from the ground and put it into her bag. Kabuto probably knew and, in that short instance, got rid of any extra belongings that Yamato had on him. She bit her lip in frustration. She knew Yamato wouldn't reveal anything himself to the Akatsuki, but they certainly could extract information from him against his will. She was certain they had that kind of ability. The other thing that bothered her was the fact that Kabuto went straight for Yamato. His target was obviously her senpai. She didn't know why that was the case. That thought scared her even more so than the fact that they would now gain intel on the Alliance. As she pondered about those things, some others had now joined them on the island.

"Tsuchikage-sama." Aoba greeted the newcomers.

"You sound defeated." Onoki said as he landed gracefully.

"They kidnapped one of ours." Aoba explained.

"They sent you here and yet you were really not of much help." The Tsuchikage then said to Yuki who still hadn't greeted him.

"Tsuchikage-sama..." Motoi, the guardian of the island, began. "If not for her..."

"At least I was here on time to prevent any casualties before the war even started." Yuki replied dryly.

Despite them being an alliance, she still had a hard time communicating with the Tsuchikage. It was his condescending manners that bothered her. He, on the other hand, didn't like how confident a young ninja like her acted. He didn't believe she had the experience nor the wisdom to do well during this war. He believed she was a fraud and somehow managed to convince the other Kages of her abilities. He couldn't accept that such a young human being could have so much power and that she could use them appropriately. His granddaughter, unlike him, loved Yuki's personality. Kurotsuchi, her given name, was also very confident and believed that her grandfather, too often, didn't give the young ones enough credits. She looked at Yuki with a smile and nodded at her as to acknowledge her work there, on the island.

"I'm guessing you are here to move the island to somewhere else." Yuki said.

"Watch you tone, kid." The Tsuchikage scolded her. "But yes, you are right. So, if you would, please take yourself off this island since you are no longer needed here..."

Yuki didn't wait for him to finish and flashed herself to the operation base.

* * *

 **S** he arrived right beside Shikaku and gave him a quick rundown of what had happened on the island. She warned him that all the knowledge Yamato had about the Alliance was now, most certainly than not, in the hands of the Akatsuki. Shikaku reassured her that they knew it would happen sooner or later since they could have captured any of them during the battle. Perhaps it happened a little earlier than anticipated, but they already knew it was bound to happen. He then handed her the forehead protector with the word _Shinobi_ engraved onto it. She took it from him and thanked him. She looked at it for a while. She never thought that one day all shinobis would share the same forehead protector. It made her happy to think of the Alliance, but it also scared her. It reminded her that the danger that lurked ahead of them was much bigger than anything the world had ever known before.

She tied the headband to her belt and made sure it was tight enough so that it wouldn't fall during the war. She walked over to the window where she could see all the shinobis assembling together as they all got their forehead protectors as well. They stood in lines where their division was.

"Yuki, you are here." She heard a familiar voice call for her.

She turned around and spotted Kakashi with the rest of the division commanders. She walked over to them with a hesitant smile. She was beginning to feel more and more nervous about the war. Kakashi could tell that she was. He placed his hand on her shoulder as to calm her down. She took a deep breath and greeted him and the rest of them before explaining to them:

"As you probably have heard, I'll be the first backup provided in case something happens during the war. I can teleport myself to any location with my seal marker present. Kakashi and Gaara already have my seal on them. To ensure that I can come and assist everyone quickly, I'll also place my seal on you and a few people from your division... if that's okay with you, of course..."

"As long as you are not recklessly jumping from one battlefield to the other, I'm okay with this plan." Darui said as he gave his wrist to her to place her seal on.

The remaining two commanders followed. As she finished placing her seal on all of them, Yuki glanced over to where the crowd was gathering once again. Kakashi gave her a quick nod and she flashed herself down there with his approval. She had to mark others as well to ensure that she could be as close as possible to any potential dangers. She, first, headed over to Sakura who was right next to Lee.

"Show me your wrists, both of you." She said. "I'll put my seal on you. If you need anything, just send your chakra through the seal and I'll be able to come and help you out."

"Don't overdo it." Sakura warned her as she showed her wrist to Yuki.

"Yes, Yuki-san!" Lee reiterated. "Stay safe!"

"I promise." Yuki said as she waved goodbye to the two of them, making her way into the second division.

She quickly spotted Neji who was standing next to Hinata and Karui. She made her way there as Hinata spotted her and smiled at her. She marked Hinata's wrist with her seal and looked over at Neji.

"You both made it here quick." She said as she felt like they were just in Konohagakure a few moments ago.

"I couldn't wait to see you again." Neji teased her.

Yuki smiled. Their time together had to be cut short again as she still had a lot to do before the war started, which was only hours away now. She gave him a short but sweet kiss on the cheek before slipping away from him. He sighed. It was still better than nothing to be able to see her and feel her before the war actually started.

Karui had now moved away from them as she didn't feel like she should be there. Yuki went after her and called her out. She stopped moving away but didn't turn towards Yuki just yet. She wasn't too sure how to feel about Yuki at that moment. Their last encounter wasn't exactly good. However, personally, she no longer had hard feelings towards Yuki. She simply didn't know how to interact with her former friend.

"Karui, let me place my seal on your wrist. If you are in any danger, just send your chakra through the seal and I'll be right over if possible." Yuki said as she caught up.

Karui bit her lip as she felt her eyes filling up with tears. It had to mean that Yuki still cared for her like a friend, like a sister. Yet, Karui felt like she was constantly blaming Yuki for her betrayal a few years ago. As Yuki got close enough, Karui turned around and gave her a hug.

"Stay safe." She simply said.

Yuki smiled as she grabbed Karui's wrist and placed her seal on it.

"I'm truly sorry. Let's talk more after this war."

"We have to, that is if we can..." Karui said.

"It's unlike you to doubt yourself." Yuki replied with a smile as she let go of Karui's arm.

"Can't help it during these times..."

"True. Stay safe." Yuki said as she now walked over to the First Division.

Tenten was the first one that she spotted in that Division. She quickly made her way through the crowd to her long time friend. They didn't get the chance to interact with each other a lot since Yuki returned to the village, but whenever they were together, it felt like they were never apart from each other. Tenten looked nervous. Yuki tapped her lightly on the shoulder and placed her seal there in the process.

"Nervous?" She asked Tenten.

"Aren't you feeling it too?" Tenten asked.

"Very." Yuki replied with a sigh. "This is something none of us thought we would live to see in our lifetime, you know..."

"I can't help but to think back to the days we would be training together in the forest. They seemed so far away, yet so close."

"We will have those days again. Let's believe in it together." Yuki said despite sharing Tenten's fear.

Tenten smiled and nodded. They gave each other one last hug before bidding their farewell as Yuki reminded her to call for her help at any point during the war. Tenten then reminded Yuki that she had to live and stay safe as there were many things waiting for her at home after the war. Yuki waved goodbye as she made her way to the Fourth Division. She spotted Shikamaru's spiky ponytail from afar. He was, after all, taller than most and his hair just gave him an extra inch.

"Wrist." She simply said as she got closer to him and met eyes with him.

"Still as bossy as ever..." He mumbled as he showed her his wrist.

She placed her seal on him as he was yawning without covering his mouth.

"I know we are good friends, but would you mind?" Yuki scolded him jokingly.

Shikamaru smiled at her comment. He felt reassured that she could still joke around with him at this time. Choji joined them as he now had just gotten his forehead protector. Yuki also told him to give her his wrist and placed her seal on him.

"Don't overdo it, alright?" Shikamaru reminded her. "If you are tired, just let people know that you are. Don't push yourself too hard. I don't think we could deal with the thought of having pushed you to your limits."

"Don't worry about me. You should worry about yourself."

"You know I would never try too hard."

"You can be certain of that." A familiar voice said.

"Good timing, Temari. Wrist, please?" Yuki said as she saw the kunoichi walk over to them.

"Gaara told me you were going around placing your seal on different people so that you could assist anyone who would be in trouble. Who is going to assist you when you need help?" Temari asked as she showed Yuki her wrist.

"I'll just bring the trouble to one of you guys." Yuki replied with a smile. "That shouldn't happen though, since I'm always going to be on the move. So remember, any trouble, just send some chakra into the seal and I'll be notified that help is needed."

"And you are off again?" Shikamaru asked her as she started walking away from them.

She simply waved goodbye silently as she disappeared into the crowd. As she made her way into the Fifth Division, she was found by Akamaru who was now making circles around her. He seemed to be happy to have found a familiar face among the crowd. Kiba quickly arrived as well, followed by Ino and Shino.

"Taichou!" Kiba teased her as he knew how much she hated them calling her that title.

"Call me that again and I'll ignore any call for help from you." Yuki said as she placed her seal on him.

"You wouldn't be able to ignore Akamaru, though."

"Ha, you got me there." She said as she patted the white dog gently.

"Promise me you'll stay safe." Shino said. "I'm only requesting such a promise because I know how reckless you can be as we have worked together as a team multiple times now."

"I will." She replied as she finished placing her seal on both him and Ino. "You all have to stay safe as well. You will be moved around a lot as you are also a support division, so be careful during the movements."

"We will have each other's back!" Ino reassured her.

They then heard the Raikage asking everyone to line up properly and the commanders to be in position so that they could announce the beginning of the war. Yuki waved goodbye to the three of them as she made her way to the front where she had to meet up with the Surprise Attack Team. She was to join them until the war was full blown. As she walked through the crowd, she couldn't help but hear expression of discontent about working with shinobis of different villages. She had thought that people didn't mind having to collaborate with other villages for the sake of the war. She only realized then that many still held grudges for different reason. She began questioning whether the Alliance was going to hold. She telepathically communicated with Inoichi, letting him know of the situation down there. He acknowledged the fact that hard feelings were present among the crowd. He quickly relayed the message to the Kages. From where she was, she could tell that Tsunade was unhappy with the news. She believed that they should all just shut their mouths and work together just this one time as it could be their last.

As she was close to the front now, Yuki saw people grabbing onto each other's collar, ready to fight each other despite being allies. Instead of walking over to her team, she walked towards a Konohagakure shinobi and a Sunagakure shinobi and pulled them apart from each other. She looked up as Gaara gave her a nod as a sign of a thank you for intervening. His sand made his way through the crowd and stopped other fights from happening. He, then, took a deep breath and began talking to the crowd:

"I, too, was once consumed by hatred. However, I met this shinobi from Konohagakure who shed tears for me despite the fact that I was an enemy. Why? Because we were affected by the same pain, the pain of being alone, the pain of being a Jinchuriki. When we can understand each other's pain, we can unite as one. We have all been affected by the Akatsuki one way or another. Because of that fact, we are all one. In this moment in time, we are all just shinobis, fighting for our tomorrow, fighting to protect what is precious to us. As your commander and as the Kazekage, if there are still hard feelings towards Sunagakure or any other villages, I'll give you my head once this war ends."

Cheering was heard and apologies were said. Yuki smiled as the two shinobis she held off earlier now were shaking hands with each other. She let go and made her way to the Surprise Attack Team. They were to head out as soon as the order to start moving was given. She placed her seal on each other them upon her arrival. Sai drew out a few birds for them to ride. She was to share one with him. As they both climbed onto the painted bird, it slowly took off with the rest of them. Kankuro was leading the flock. They rose high up in the sky to the point where everybody on the ground looked like tiny ants. The war had officially started.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 63**

* * *

And so it begins: the beginning of the end.

There are still many chapters to come, but I guess we could say that we are about to conclude.

Thank you for reading everything so far!

Let me know what you look forward to in the next few chapters!

xox

Krystal


	65. Chapter 64: First Victory

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 64: First Victory**

* * *

 **T** he sky was too blue for them to even think that this was going to turn into a gloomy day. The breeze felt good as it went through Yuki's hair. She was holding on tight to Sai as they were travelling as great speed at great altitude. They were looking for a good spot to prepare traps, to stop infiltration of the enemy into Kumogakure's territory and to wait for the recognition team sent out by Konohagakure, lead by Anko, to meet up with them.

"How are you feeling?" Sai suddenly asked Yuki.

"I'm alright." She replied.

It was a lie. She wasn't feeling alright. Her guts were turning inside as she was anxious about the war. She was trying to keep it all inside as well. There was no reason for others to know how she felt. It would only make others nervous as well. She had always been great at keeping her emotions hidden.

"I know we've always been taught to keep every ounces of nervousness hidden, but sometimes, it's better to let it out. We are all in this together for once." Sai said.

She was surprised by that remark. She had been avoiding him a quite a while now and didn't realize how much he had changed. He wasn't completely aloof about feelings as he used to be. Although there was still room for growth, he now understood the value of emotions and the value of expressing them. She smiled at that thought.

"You are right." Yuki said. "I am scared, because the outcome of this war is so unpredictable."

"Most missions are."

"But usually, I can bet my life on their success... This..."

"It's because your life now isn't just your own anymore." He said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

He paused for a second and added:

"You know, I'm really happy for you and Neji. I just wished that..."

"Alright guys! We are landing here!" Kankuro interrupted them as he was now heading down towards the forest.

"Let's talk after the war." Sai said as he made his bird follow their captain, knowing that there was nothing else to be said at that moment that wouldn't take up a lot of time and words.

They landed gently onto the ground and the birds disappeared into Sai's scrolls. As they were now settling into the area, Yuki and Omoi were paired together to go set traps around the perimeter of their camping ground. Omoi didn't seem to fully trust their captain as he deemed Kankuro too young to be able to lead a team to victory during such a war. Yuki, however, knew Kankuro well enough to believe that there was no better captain than him. Kankuro was a planner. Being a master puppeteer made him plan out each and every move carefully. He was also very cautious and calm. He was also someone who cared dearly about his team members. He was not one to sacrifice a human life for no reason. All these things made him a great captain.

"None of the Akatsuki would fall for such traps..." Omoi mumbled as they were setting the traps.

"You would be surprised. Some of them don't really have a brain between their ears." Yuki said.

Those were the first words they had exchanged since their last encounter in the Land of Iron. Omoi looked at her in the eyes. He smiled and looked away.

"I just came to realize that you've changed, Yuki. I wish I was the one who changed you."

"Huh?"

"Remember when I asked you if you ever felt something with you heart?"

Yuki nodded. She promised him back then that she would find an answer to it before actually responding to him.

"So, who is he? Who is the lucky guy?" He asked her as he placed an exploding tag onto a tree.

"Neji." She simply replied.

"Is he good to you?" Omoi asked with a slight tremor in his voice.

"Yes..."

"Good." He interrupted her before standing up and turning towards her with a smile on his face. "Let's head back. I think our job is done here."

She could tell his smile was fake, but she didn't want to call him out on it. He wanted to show her happiness. She decided she would be fooled by it. She accepted it despite knowing that there was actually sadness behind that smile. They headed back to the camping ground to meet up with the rest of them. They walked side by side silently. The silence wasn't awkward. The silence was actually peace that they had made. It was the feud that was resolved between the two of them.

* * *

 **T** here was no movement for a few hours. Along with Hoheto and Zaji, Yuki was now in charge of surveillance of the area surrounding them. All of the sudden, Zaji pointed towards the dense forest and screamed out:

"I recognize a chakra. It's Muta from the Aburame clan! He's heading towards us."

Zaji was about to head into the forest to meet up with Muta. However, Yuki pulled him back. She shook her head at him. He shoved her hand away and went despite being warned of the danger by her body language. As he reached the outside border of their camping ground, Muta had also reached that line and collapsed onto his knees. He was seemingly badly injured and was trying to say something. However, he was unable to properly say a word.

"Hoheto-san, can you check the gourd on Muta's back?"

Being from the Hyuga clan, it wasn't hard for him to quickly find out that there was explosive clay inside the gourd. As he informed the rest of the team, Kankuro used his chakra strings to pull Zaji out of the way before the clay exploded. Although he managed to save his life, Zaji was now in pain as his legs were terribly injured.

"Yuki!" Kankuro called for her as she was already making her way over to him.

"You remember Deidara, right?" Yuki told him as she was healing Zaji. "This is his work. His clay is weak against lightning."

"I guess I'll handle him then." Omoi said as he pulled out his sword and spat out the lollipop that was in his mouth.

As everyone entered the fight, Yuki was by Zaji's side making sure he was fully recovered. She had greatly improved on her medical skills and external injuries such as the one he had were nothing hard for her to fix. As she was finishing up her treatment, she saw that Sai was now fighting against someone who resembled the person he had drawn in one of his notebooks. _Shin_. It was Sai's brother. Yuki couldn't help but to bite her lip in disgust. She couldn't imagine having to fight someone who was once your family. That was when it hit her that many of the dead people they once cherish would now become their enemies. She wrapped up Zaji's injury and quickly headed to the battlefront to fight alongside the rest of the surprise attack division.

For a team that was put together at the last minute only, they were fighting incredibly well together. They pulled Sasori out of his hiding spot as Omoi severed the chakra strings that he was using to control Shin and Kankuro connected his own chakra strings to those loose strands to pull him. Yuki stopped Deidara's movement by using her lightning technique and piercing him right in the heart. However, because they were, in a sense, living dead, he was still alive and talking. He was simply unable to move any further.

As for Shin, he was still fighting against Sai. Nobody could intervene and wanted to. They were all afraid that they would harm Sai's brother, despite knowing that he was already dead. As Sasori and Deidara were both now confined in Kankuro's puppets and sealed appropriately, Yuki could now head over to lend him a hand. She was still hesitant. She could simply seal Shin, but she sensed that there was something there behind those soulless eyes. He wanted to say something to Sai. He was now still recovering from a previous explosion. Paper-like pieces were being reassembled into Shin's body. Sai pointed his sword at Shin. His brother smiled and shook his head. The reassembly was now disassembling itself. He pointed to a book that was opened on the ground. It was the finished product of the notebook Sai had drawn in memory of his brother. A tear rolled down Sai's cheek. It was the first time Yuki saw him cry.

"I guess that was the only thing holding me back on this Earth." Shin told him. "I really wanted to see that last page."

He then disappeared as a dead unknown body was now lying in the ashes of what used to be Shin. Yuki gave Sai a light pat on the shoulder as he picked up the notebook and placed it back into his bag. It was their victory as now all the enemies were either sealed or gone. However, it felt bittersweet, especially for Sai. For a second there, he had his family back.

Meanwhile, Deidara was being loud despite being unable to move around. Sasori, calm as always, scolded him as he, himself, was rather impressed by the quality of the puppet that had now entrapped him. He couldn't help but express his astonishment to Kankuro.

"It's all thanks to you."

"If only I was still alive to have created such immortal..."

"That's where you are wrong. You shouldn't wish for immortality. You already are. You are alive, always, through these creations. It's your legacy that allowed for such fine puppets to be created. That's true immortality." Kankuro interrupted him.

At those words, they could sense movement inside the puppet that held Sasori captive. They heard him chuckle before realizing that he had now moved on to the afterlife just like Shin. Perhaps it was because he also found the answer to what was holding him back. Deidara sensed his departure too. He shook around a lot more. Yuki sent another lightning needle in his direction to further restrict his movement. He was displeased with it, but couldn't say much more.

They sent the news of their victory to the headquarters. They were now to split and join the various division as they had previously been assigned to. Yuki was to head back to the headquarter to provide them with all the intelligence they had gathered during their first encounter with the enemies. They bid their farewell to each other as marked each of them with her seal, instructing them the same things as she had with everybody else: in case of an emergency, send chakra in for help.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 64**

* * *

Sorry for the delay! I was not expecting to be so busy in the last few weeks, but here's a new chapter.

Thank you for reading, reviewing and adding this story to your favorites/follows!

xox

Krystal


	66. Chapter 65: Unwilling Souls

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 65: Unwilling Souls**

* * *

 **I** t was unanimously agreed that there was only two ways to stop reincarnations. They either had to be sealed or they had to let go of their soul on their own free will. The second option was most likely going to happen when unanswered questions were finally answered or when unresolved businesses was finally resolved. As the others were discussing this whole thing, Yuki couldn't help but feel sorry for the reincarnation. They were brought back against their own will and reminded of the pain they had to endure when they were alive. They are reminded of the regrets they might have had. Yuki couldn't help but wonder who she would have to fight. Although they were already dead, she couldn't help but hurt for them.

"We've just detected a large army travelling underground." Ao announced. "They are heading towards the Second Division. Actually, they seem to try to get pass them."

"They are probably headed for the headquarters." Yuki said as she stood up and focused back on the task at hand. "They are close to the Second Division, you said?"

Ao nodded. Shikaku stayed silent for a second. He then told Inoichi to inform some of the people from the Fifth Division to head over to the Second Division to lend them support. If he wasn't wrong, they would have to fight a large number of white Zetsus according to the reports. They would need all the help they could get. Yuki prepared herself to head over to the Second Division as well. It was where Neji was. She felt uneasy about him and the others having to fight off such a large number of enemies. However, before she could flash away, Shikaku held her back.

"Before you arrived here, there was reports that Kakashi's division are about to fight something or someone with a great amount of chakra." Shikaku told her.

"He's not alone. It sounds like there are a few more following them." Ao told them.

"You head there, Yuki." Shikaku told her. "Omoi and Sai are also heading there. You should join up with them. You guys are already used to working with each other. As strong as you are, working in a team is better during such times."

Yuki nodded. She flashed herself to where Sai was. He was on one of his painted birds, flying towards Kakashi's location alongside Omoi. As she arrived, she noticed that the air around them was cold. As she turned around, she noticed an iced like structure forming above them. She quickly used a fire jutsu to melt it. However, she was a second late as some needles flew out of it, causing the ink bird to disintegrate. The three of them fell from the sky towards the ground. Yuki pulled out some ropes and lassoed in both Omoi and Sai. She threw her kunai onto the ground and flashed them there, allowing for her feet to touch the ground gracefully while softening the landing for the remaining two.

"You're a lifesaver." Omoi said as he brushed the dirt of his shirt.

Yuki smiled, but did not reply. They had landed into a thick mist. It felt very familiar to Yuki. She closed her eyes and activated her sharingan. It was indeed a good idea for her to come here. She bit her lip and smiled sadly before saying softly:

"I didn't think I would see you again... Haku, Zabuza."

"Yuki... You remembered..." She heard Haku's voice say.

"I promised you I would always remember you, right?" Yuki asked as she took a few steps closer in their direction with her sword in hand.

"You've grown a lot." Zabuza told her. "How are they all doing?"

Yuki smiled before replying with a shaken voice: "They are good."

"I'm glad." Haku said with a smile.

Yuki bit her lip as her eyes started filling up with tears. Haku and Zabuza meant a lot to her. Haku was one of the purest human being she had met despite his difficult upbringing. He, just like Naruto, were simple minded in this complicated world. Until his death, he held on to the belief that he had to protect the person that was most precious to him. Zabuza was someone who was so misunderstood that Yuki grew to feel for him. He was tainted by the dirty shinobi world. He died, however, with a clean heart and mind. Yet, now, he was once again a pawn of the shinobi world through the reincarnation spell.

"Yuki, don't feel bad for us. We are dead after all." Haku told her. "Just stop us."

Yuki shook her head to snap out of her daze. As she did, she saw Zabuza lift his arm up and, with his other hand, form the seal to create a heavy mist around him and everyone else. Thanks to a great sensory skill, in addition to her activated sharingan, she was able to navigate in the mist fairly well. She, then, sensed the presence of two more shinobis. Their chakra was unfamiliar to her, but she could tell that they were just as powerful as Haku and Zabuza. She joined up back with Omoi and Sai who were not too far away from her.

"Sai, you've heard of Silent Killing, right?" Yuki asked him. "There's nobody better than Zabuza at it."

"Silent Killing?" Omoi asked as a sweat rolled down his forehead.

"It's just like its name. He kills without making a sound. The only sound you'll hear is from the person who has been murdered." Yuki explained. "Make sure you have each other's back."

She could hear Omoi swallow his saliva loudly. She didn't blame him. Anybody else would have probably passed out of fear. He was still standing. His grip on his sword tightened. Sai remained calm as always. In one hand, he had his paintbrush out and in the other a scroll.

"Above." Yuki said as she blocked the attack with her sword.

"Well played." Zabuza complimented her as he pushed down further.

At that moment, Yuki noticed that there was an iced mirror just above him. She met eyes with Haku in there. She barely moved out of the way as needles went flying towards her. She rolled on the floor as to avoid getting slashed by Zabuza's sword. Omoi and Sai also moved out of the way, preventing themselves from being injured by Haku's needles.

Zabuza decided to push Yuki away from them as it would be easier to divide and conquer in this kind of situation. Yuki was left with no choice put to fight him head on. At that moment, she sensed a familiar chakra heading towards them. She moved closer to that source of chakra. Unaware of the situation, Zabuza followed her. As they got close enough, Yuki stopped Zabuza's movement with her ice jutsu. As she did, the owner of the familiar chakra made his appearance.

"It sure took you time, senpai." Yuki said, relieved that they now had backup.

"Not everyone can appear within seconds like you, Yuki." He told her as he pulled up his forehead protector to reveal his sharingan.

"Kakashi." Zabuza murmured.

He was about to say more, but his eyes started changing. He then pleaded:

"Stop this madness, please..."

He couldn't say anymore. He broke free from Yuki's ice and summoned, behind him, the remaining Mist Ninja Swordsmen. Yuki and Kakashi exchanged looks and charged forward knowing that they could no longer delay this fight. They went for Zabuza first, ignoring the remaining ninjas that had just been summoned. Zabuza lead them away from the rest of the Allied Shinobis that now had joined up with them.

As they ran across the field, Zabuza tried killing every living things that he came across. Despite trying their best, Kakashi and Yuki were unable to stop every single one of his attacks. In desperation, Yuki threw her kunai as hard as possible in his direction and then flashed herself right by him. She avoided his swinging sword as she appeared and broke it as pushed her lightning blade against it.

"Your blade has gotten dull." She said.

"I'll use your blood to repair it." He said without a hint of emotion.

She didn't let it happen. She kicked the sword out of his hand and held him down with an ice jutsu that started spreading all over his body. Kakashi appeared right at that moment and was about to strike him with his chidori. However, history repeated itself. Haku appeared right in front of them and was struck by the lightning ball instead of Zabuza, allowing him to escape away and to grab his sword. He, then, cut right through Haku and slashed Kakashi right in the chest as Yuki pulled him away to avoid fatal injury. She was then slightly cut on the cheek. It didn't really matter though. It was only a small cut.

"Are you alright?" Yuki asked Kakashi as they had taken a few steps back.

"Thanks to you, this is just an external injury." He replied despite blood dripping from his chest.

Haku fell to the ground. He should have been repaired, but he wasn't being fixed. He remained unconscious on the ground. Yuki knew it was only a matter of minutes before he did. Perhaps his conscience was taking over the reincarnation spell. He had once again successfully protected Zabuza. As Kakashi headed for Zabuza again despite his injury, Yuki walked over by Haku's body with tears in her eyes. She started sealing his body. She bid him goodbye once again, promising to see him in the afterlife, promising him to send Zabuza to where he was. She noticed that Haku seemed to have heard her promise. A drop of blood from Yuki's cheek fell onto his face and drew itself on his face like a tear that he had shed himself. Yuki closed her eyes as her heart felt all the pain that she had felt back then when Haku had died alongside with Zabuza. She remembered telling Naruto not to be too sad back then as they were now in a better place. She tried to remind herself of that statement in that moment. She stood up and turned her back to Haku's sealed body.

"I'll never forget you, Haku. Dead or alive, I'll always remember you."

Yuki then flashed herself to Kakashi and Zabuza. It was time to allow Zabuza to be with Haku once again. She couldn't let them be apart for too long.

* * *

As she appeared by her senpai's side, she told him that she had sealed Haku. Zabuza, despite being under the control of the reincarnation jutsu, seemingly reacted to that statement. For a second, he loosened the grip he had on his sword. Kakashi noticed it and took advantage of it. He charged ahead as he told Yuki to be ready to seal Zabuza. This time, Kakashi did not miss him. His lightning blade cut right through his heart and stopped his movement. He seemed to have regain some consciousness at that moment. He whispered:

"Thank you, Kakashi..."

Yuki spread her ice jutsu over him as Kakashi pulled away. As the seal was completed, the mist slowly dissipated as well. Behind them, Yuki saw the large army of the Allied Shinobis cheering. She should have been happy, but she wasn't. Her heart felt heavy as she sealed away two people she felt very strongly about. They had gone through so much when they were alive. Now, they had gone through a lot once again through their death.

"It's dirty, isn't it?" Kakashi asked her as he noticed the disgust on her face. "Let's put an end to this."

She nodded as they separated to fight the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist. Each of them took part of the Third Division with them. Yuki was more determined than ever to put an end to this war. She couldn't bare to see more souls, unwilling to fight, being slaves of the reincarnation jutsu. She couldn't help to wonder how many more they would encounter.

The moment she was distracted once again, she was attacked by an explosion. She barely dodged it. She blinked once and activated her Sharingan again. Lee appeared out of nowhere and fought the assailant. They separated from the group as Lee yelled out to Yuki that he could handle this.

"Be careful!" She yelled out to him as she knew she would be unable to follow him as another chakra owner was coming towards them.

Before she could take action, she heard screeches from the Allied Shinobis. She turned around and saw many being mummified by a woman with her hair in a bun.

"Pakura-sensei..." said one of the shinobi who was beside Yuki.

"Pakura? The Scorch Release Kunoichi?" Yuki asked her.

She had read about the technique once when she was in the Hidden Sand Village. The only known user of the Kekkei Genkai was Pakura. She was famous during her prime time thanks to unique abilities. However, nobody knew what had happened to her. She simply vanished off the surface of the Earth.

"Maki?" Pakura asked as she turned her head towards them.

She looked at the shinobi next to Yuki with a kind expression. Her hands lowered. She was no longer in a threatening stance. The one named Maki had tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe that her lost sensei was now standing right in front of her. She took a step forward, but Yuki stopped her. Maki looked at Yuki and nodded, recognizing that this wasn't the sensei she knew, that this was merely a reincarnation of the person she once knew, that this was the enemy.

"You are actually working with shinobis from other villages." Pakura said with a slight disgust in her tone.

"We are allies now. We are all fighting together for the future..." Maki started.

Pakura laughed hysterically.

"Allies? There's no such thing in this disgusting shinobi world. Do you know what happened to me?"

"If I'm allowed to guess..." Yuki began.

"Go ahead." Pakura told her.

"You gave your all to your village. You were loyal until your death to the village. However, they decided to use you. They used you as a sacrificial pawn. They were the reason for your death." Yuki said as she readied herself to seal Pakura.

"You are right!" Pakura said. "I died cursing my village. I died cursing this shinobi world. I died regretting having given my heart and soul to them. Now, I'm given a chance to destroy them."

"Sensei!" Maki cried out.

"Stay out of this, Maki. Don't get involved." She told her former student.

"The world isn't the same as it used to be." Yuki told her. "Everyone now stands together for the sake of the future."

"And then one betrays the rest." Pakura said bitterly.

Maki shook her head. At that moment, Pakura charged towards them and kicked Maki out of the way in order to fight Yuki one on one. Yuki used her ice jutsu to protect herself but also to be on the offensive. She avoided at all cost to be touched by Pakura as she knew there was only death if contact occurred.

"Maki! The moment she is immobilized, you are going to have to seal her!" Yuki yelled out as she wanted Maki to be ready for the event to happen.

Maki nodded despite not wanting to erase her sensei's existence once again. She knew there was no other way though. She had to put the success of the war before her own feelings. Besides, this wasn't the person she once knew. The Pakura-sensei she knew was warm, positive and loving. She was fierce, but gentle towards her subordinates. She believed in the future. She worked hard for the future to happen. She wanted to remember Pakura under such light. As she kept her eyes on the fight between Yuki and Pakura, she didn't sense that someone had approached them. She only realized when an explosion occurred right in front of her eyes. She thought it was all over. However, as she opened her eyes, she saw an ice wall in front of her. It was Yuki who had, with great timing, protected her. Through that wall, she saw her sensei who had created an earth wall to protect her as well from the attack. Pakura, however, received damage from the attack. Maki's eyes filled with tears again.

"Do it now." Pakura mumbled. "Or else you won't get a second chance... I can sense my consciousness leaving my body."

Maki unwillingly released her cloth binding technique to seal her sensei.

"Gari, let them live for a bit longer. They need to understand this themselves." Pakura told the ninja that had attacked them with the explosion.

"Out of respect for you, I'll come back later." He said as he disappeared into the forest.

Yuki blinked again as her sharingan disappeared. She walked over to Maki and placed her hand of her shoulder to comfort her as they both watched Pakura being sealed away.

"You, from Konohagakure, I'm entrusting Maki to you. Don't let her die in vain."

"I promise I won't let anybody die in vain." Yuki replied firmly.

"I guess my fight is truly over." Pakura said as she sighed. "I wished I lived during your times. Perhaps, then, I would have not died in vain. Perhaps I wouldn't die cursing this world."

"Watch us from the heavens." Yuki told her. "We will show you that this world is better than what you have known."

Pakura smirked as the cloth covered her face. She was tired of fighting. She only fought because she believed she had to. However, when she knew that what she wanted was beyond that, she stopped it. She didn't want to fight. She wanted to protect what she believed it. She wanted to protect the future just like they did. She simply forgot that fact. She simply lost faith in it for a while. She still knew love, she still knew care. As her sealing was complete, Yuki looked at Maki who was devastated from the loss of her sensei once again. Yuki patted her on the back once again before heading towards where Lee was, leaving her alone for bit to mourn her sensei's death.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 65**

* * *

Thank you again for reading this story!

I know the order might be off for the fight... Hopefully you won't be too affected by it.

Let me know how you feel in the comment section!

xox

Krystal


	67. Chapter 66: Bittersweet Victory

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 66: Bittersweet Victory**

* * *

 **S** he was just about to meet up with Lee when she got news from the headquarters to head for the First Division instead as they now had to fight the infamous Ginkaku and Kinkaku from Kumogakure. She was told that only if she went there would the Fourth Raikage stay put at the headquarters. She couldn't help but chuckle at that information. Scolded by Inoichi as to how she shouldn't be laughing in the current situation, she stopped immediately and followed the orders from the headquarters. She quickly flashed herself to Darui who was the commander of the First Division.

"I was hoping you would be bringing an army with you." He told her as she made her appearance.

"Am I not good enough?" She asked him, slightly offended. "Don't worry. Reinforcement from the other companies are coming."

"They've already captured Atsui and Samui into that gourd." Darui told her. "I have to avoid saying whatever word it is that I say the most often since they cursed that word."

"I didn't realize I got here this late." Yuki said as she bit her lip.

Kinkaku and Ginkaku were already extremely strong. Adding to their strength was the ownership of two of the most dangerous weapons to have ever existed. They had truly had to devise a proper plan to be able to defeat them. Furthermore, they couldn't count on more reinforcement as everyone was already preoccupied by other reincarnation at shore. They had to take the battle out in the water. In a way, it was advantageous to Yuki as she was very proficient in water jutsus. However, she was uncertain if those were enough to fight monsters like Kinkaku and Ginkaku. The two brothers seemed to not care about her sudden appearance. They probably thought nothing much of her. She looked like a fly to them. As Darui and Yuki both used black lightning to strike down the two of them, they quickly dodged the attack and sneaked up behind Darui.

"That is such a dull..." He stopped himself as Yuki cried out his name.

Yuki spread out chakra strings like a puppeteer would and attached them to Darui as she tried hard to pull him away from the gourd. She kept pulling on them, but the sucking power of the gourd was much stronger than she was. She could hear Darui apologizing non-stop as he felt like he let so many down. She did not give up on him despite knowing that it would be hard for her to overpower the effect of the gourd. All of the sudden, the tension loosened and Darui came flying towards her. They both landed into the water and swam back to the surface to counterattack the two brothers. Using the sudden situation to their advantage, they took the two of them by surprise. As Yuki created a whirlpool below Ginkaku, Darui was able to disarm him. Yuki then sent Ginkaku flying towards Kinkaku. Yuki flashed herself there and took ownership of the weapons Kinkaku had in hand. She cursed Ginkaku as she was able to place her seal onto him. Darui didn't waste a single second and got him to call out his brother, his most spoken word, and sucked into the infamous Benihisago.

"One down, only one more to go." Darui said.

However, as he said those words, he felt down on one knee. The utilization of those weapons, including the gourd, required a lot of chakra. Yuki could sense it too. She quickly summoned her trusted aid, Kiku. As she appeared, she nodded at Yuki, understanding the situation right away. She climbed on top of Yuki's head and began gathering Nature energy for her immediately. As the process began, she wasn't the only beginning to transform. Kinkaku was enraged by the fact that his brother got captured by the Allied Force. He began transforming into what resembled a tailed-beast cloak form. There was six tails to his transformation. Yuki's transformation was complete as well as her hair grew a couple more inches and her lashes looked like the snow had just kissed them. Both her sharingans showed themselves as the mangekyo state. She began moving towards Kinkaku. Darui wished he still had enough chakra to keep up with her. However, he knew that if he tried, he would just be in her way. Instead, he quickly communicated with the headquarter to see where they were at with the reinforcement and to update them on the current situation.

Kinkaku went on a rampage. He began spreading his tails onto shore and harming the Allied Force without restraint. Yuki told everyone to move back and to take cover as she took on him by herself. She saw in the corner of her eye Tenten who refused to back down. However, she knew well that she was no match for the monstrous force that was in front of her. Instead, she made it her goal to protect as many shinobis on shore as she could. Yuki was thankful for her resolve. She couldn't protect and fight at the same time. With her friend protecting the lives of the Allied Shinobi, Yuki could focus solely on fighting Kinkaku. She tried to restraint him in many ways, including trying to take him down with Amaterasu. However, the cloak he had on protected him against most physical attacks. She knew the only thing she could do was try to put him under a genjutsu until the headquarter sent some help to seal him up. It was easier said than done as she was unable to make eye contact with him. He knew well not to make eye contact. He kept moving to avoid falling under her jutsu.

Yuki tried contacting Inoichi as she was moving around. She wasn't well versed in the art of telepathy, but she could manage, at least that's what she believed. She was wondering if they could send Shikamaru over to the First Division for this one fight.

"Inoichi-san?" She telepathically asked.

"How..." He began as he wasn't aware that she could freely communicate with him without having him initiate the communication.

"Let's leave that for later? I've been thinking that we would need someone from the Nara clan come over to help hold this one down." Yuki interrupted him.

"You thought of the same thing as Shikaku. Shikamaru is on his way. We also sent Ino and Choji since there are other fights to be had there that would need them to intervene."

"Thanks." Yuki said as she cut communication, sensing it was coming to an end.

As the conversation ended, she could sense Shikamaru's chakra nearby. He was quickly approaching her. Before she could give him a sign to come, he was already there. He looked at her with a smirk:

"I heard you actually needed some help."

"As you can see." She said as she pointed to the transformed Kinkaku.

"The bigger they are, the more shadow they create." He said as he formed the seal to trap Kinkaku in his own shadow. "Bear in mind that I can't hold him down for that long."

"I will only need a few seconds." Yuki reassured him.

As she finished talking, Kinkaku was no longer moving. Yuki quickly stepped in front of him and stared him in the eyes and put him under a genjutsu. Shikamaru released his shadow jutsu and Kinkaku collapsed onto the water, his cloak still present though. At that moment, Darui gave them sign that he had received something from the headquarters to seal that large amount chakra. Still under Yuki's control, Kinkaku responded to Darui's call for him. He was then sucked into a large container known as the Amber Purifying Pot. That battle had now ended. For a moment, Yuki contemplated sitting down for a second. However, things were not over yet. She turned towards the shore where there were more reincarnation. One of them, from where she was standing, was none other than Asuma. He had now encountered Ino and Choji. Shikamaru quickly headed there as he knew he would be needed. Yuki sent Kiku away as constantly gathering Nature energy was exhausting for her. She believed it was best to save everyone's energy until it was truly needed. Yuki also undid her sharingan as to save her own chakra before flashing herself to shore.

"This is never ending." Darui commented to her.

They were both fighting off the large amount of white Zetsu heading towards them. Among them was also Kakuzu. He was a lot of trouble the last time they fought him. Yuki never expected to see him again. He had already ripped out many hearts. He was heading towards Tenten who was standing her ground. She seemed to have picked up one of the legendary weapons that was wielded by Kinkaku, the Bashoshen. The large fan allowed her to generate any elemental jutsu at will. However, it took a lot out of a person's chakra once used. It revealed itself to be quite useful as it destroyed instantly whatever mask Kakuzu sent towards her. Right that moment, Yuki sensed a large amount of warm chakra exude from someone she was very familiar with. She turned around to see that Choji had spread his wings and flew above all. He broke out of his cocoon. He defeated Asuma as tears rolled down his face. Choji had always been so kind. Everybody knew that. He blossomed under such difficult circumstances. It was perhaps necessary. However, it still broke Yuki's heart to see him succeed at the expense of a final goodbye with his sensei. He didn't stop there to mourn his sensei. He quickly moved on as he knew he was needed elsewhere on the battlefield. Soon, the First Division overpowered their enemies and claimed victory where they were.

Before they knew it, the evening came. They saw the sun setting out in the ocean. The ocean was red, not just from the color of the sky, but from the blood that was shed that day. The White Zetsus were retreating into that blood bath as well. They couldn't comprehend why, but they weren't complaining. Before they could call it a day, the masked man who called himself Madara appeared. Yuki quickly headed over to fight him. However, she couldn't even close enough and he summoned a large monster-like statue who destroyed everything on its path. It created a large shockwave that Yuki barely managed to lessen its strength by softening the ground around them. It still caused many fatalities as many fell from where they were and were sent flying against rocks, into the ocean while their internal organs were torn apart from the shock. As Yuki collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion trying to reduce the numbers of death with such a large scale jutsu, the statue vanished just as quickly as it had appeared in front of their eyes. Yuki slammed her fist onto the ground as she looked around and realized how many more had just died. Shikamaru quickly headed over to her side to make sure that she was okay. Everything had happened so quickly. They weren't even sure what had happened and why they were under such brief and devastating attack.

"They took away the Purifying Pot and the Gourd." Darui came and told them.

"They were after the Nine-tails chakra." Yuki said as she coughed up some blood. "I should've realized it. I knew that Kinkaku's chakra felt familiar to Naruto's. I'm such an idiot."

"You can't blame yourself." Shikamaru said. "There was so much going on. Nobody could have..."

Yuki stood up as she wiped away the blood at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were filled with tears as she saw the immobile bodies spread everywhere on the beach and in the water. She took a deep breath and walked towards one of the bodies. She closed their eyes. They deserved at least that much. She knew they couldn't do much for them at that moment, but she still wanted them to be able to finally close their eyes and rest.

"Let's recover the bodies from the waters." Darui said to Shikamaru as they exchanged looks and followed Yuki.

How many lives were lost that day? Yuki didn't want to know. One was already too many. Although she prepared herself mentally to such loss, she never realized how much she grew to care for each and every individual of the Allied Forces. Whether she knew them personally or not, she had sensed their chakra at one point. She had wished for their well-being at least once. She probably saw them at least once. As the bodies were lined up on the beach, the survivors prayed for them and wished them a safe journey to heaven. Yuki turned away from the scene and walked away as she flashed herself to a place where she could feel comforted.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 66**

* * *

Thank you for reading yet another chapter.

Let me know how you feel about the story so far in the review section! I usually respond through PMs to your comments!

xox

Krystal


	68. Chapter 67: The Last Peaceful Moments

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 67: The Last Peaceful Moments**

* * *

 **H** e was now right in front of her with his Byakugan activated as he was on surveillance duty at that time. His eyes became softer. Her face was hidden by the shadows of the trees in the night. She slowly took a few steps towards him. The moonlight revealed the exhaustion on her face. He quickly rushed over to her as Kiba, who was also present, moved elsewhere as to give them a little bit of privacy. He was tactful in moments like these.

Neji took her into his arms as she hugged him back around the waist. She felt so tired. She was completely drained. She wasn't tired physically. She could still fight. She probably could still fight for a few more days. She was emotionally and mentally drained. Her eyes kept filling up with tears without much reason. In reality, they filled up with tears for too many reasons to count. He knew there was nothing much he could say to her. He just had to be there for her at that moment as a shoulder to cry on. She wouldn't cry despite the teary eyes. She was able to hold it all in, at least, for the time being. She just wanted to rest by his side as tomorrow was growing to be more and more uncertain. They stood there for a little while longer.

"How are you doing by the way?" She finally asked him as she pulled away.

"I should be asking you that." He replied.

"It's been a long day and it's not like we can rest right now either." She said as she lied down onto the grass and looked up towards the moon. "Any time now, I'm going to have to leave again."

He sat down next to her and looked towards the moon as well. He sighed. She wasn't wrong. It had been a long day. Usually, those days came to an end, but it wasn't going to be the case. There was an uncertainty lurking around them. Nobody knew why the enemy retreated. They just had to assumed it was for the worst. Because of it, they were on high alert. Peaceful time like this was rare and had to be cherished. They stayed side by side silently. Yuki had now closed her eyes as tears came streaming down her face. She tried so hard to hold it in all day. It was only in front of him that she could allow herself to be so vulnerable. It pained him to see her crying, but he knew that she only wanted him to be there. He grabbed onto her hand to stop her from shaking so much as she kept crying. It did help her. Her breathing became more steady with his touch. As she began to calm down, she heard Inoichi's voice.

"Yuki, I'm sorry. We have a situation. Actually two. Naruto and Bee have just escaped from the island and are heading to the battle front. Tsunade-sama and the Raikage are on their way to stop them."

"I figured that was going to happen." Yuki replied as she sat up and wiped away her tears.

"Second issue is that the medical headquarter had two of their jounins medics killed just now. If you could just head over there..."

She kissed Neji on the cheek quickly and vanished. He wasn't even given the time to tell her goodbye. He sighed as he re-engaged his byakugan, knowing that the night was going to be just as long as the day had been.

* * *

"Sakura!" Yuki said as she appeared in Sakura's tent at the Medical and Logistical base camp.

"Sit down. Let me heal you while we talk." Sakura told her as she began washing her hands.

"I'm not injured..." Yuki said.

"Sure. You fought all day, went to who knows how many battlefields and you tell me that you are unscathed?" Sakura asked sarcastically. "Just sit down."

Yuki frowned as she reluctantly took a sit. She wasn't unscathed, but the injuries were nothing to be worried about. She had been through much worst. She figured that she would at least let Sakura check since she wasn't usually one to be happy about someone disagreeing with her.

"So what's been going on?" Yuki asked as Sakura began healing the superficial cuts on Yuki's body.

"Someone infiltrated the camp. We are currently on lock down to find that person." Sakura explained. "We knew that the only person we could call for help was you since you had placed a seal on me and there would be no doubt that you would be you, I guess."

As she finished saying those words, someone entered their tent. Yuki raised her eyebrow at the sight of the person standing in front of them.

"Neji." Sakura said as she welcomed him in. "I forgot to tell you that..."

Before Sakura could finish, Yuki blasted him out with a lightning blade. Sakura looked at her in shock before realizing that he had now transformed into a White Zetsu. They had found the infiltrator. What surprised still surprised Yuki was the fact that his chakra was identical to Neji's. Had she not been with him just a few moments ago, she would have never known that he was a fake.

"I'll let you handle the current situation?" Yuki asked Sakura. "I think I need to report this in person to the headquarters."

"Of course." Sakura replied as others began gathering around them.

At those words, Yuki teleported herself back to the headquarters immediately. Every battlefield had to be made aware of the possible infiltration from the White Zetsus. Friends from yesterday could now be enemies. There was no real way of telling who was their ally and who was their enemy.

* * *

As she appeared at the headquarters, it was fairly empty there without the Raikage and Tsunade present. She was greeted by Shikaku who had a stern look on his face as he knew that something had to be up for her to be present at the headquarters. He urged her to sit down and to give them all the details. She told him everything: from the infiltration to the chakra imitation. The wrinkles on his forehead accentuated themselves as he was trying to figure out what to do about the current situation. The only thing he could think of was the installment of a password system. However, it would be hard to spread the news to everyone. If not everyone was informed, then the possibility of a fake getting that password would remain. Their plan would therefore be worthless. They couldn't ask everyone to constantly be on their guard either as that would lead to distrust among the army and nothing would get done. However, Yuki pointed out that, at the moment, no action could be taken either because the fear had already taken place among the divisions.

"How is the Naruto situation, by the way?" Yuki asked as they came to no good solution for the White Zetsus.

"I haven't heard back from Tsunade-sama nor the Raikage." Shikaku told her. "It's almost sunrise, yet... Where do you think you are going?"

"I can't think right now. I might as well head to where Naruto is and get my body moving." She replied as she had stood up from her seat.

The Tsuchikage was also present in the room. He hadn't said a single word. At her abrupt movement, he simply snickered. She turned her head towards him and glared at him. She still did not like that old man. He was cynical and filled with bad intention from what she could tell. His lack of trust in the younger generation bothered her.

"Glaring at your elders is not polite, you know." He then said as he made his way towards her.

Yuki decided to ignore that comment. She wasn't usually impolite, but she couldn't help it towards him.

"I heard about your fights in the last few hours." He then began. "I must say, you are better than what I had thought."

"Should I be grateful at those words?" She asked, still with a defiant tone.

"I am complimenting you." He replied.

"Well, thank you then." Yuki replied sarcastically.

"I still don't like your tone, nor do I like you in general." He then said as he turned his back to her. "But I cannot deny that your devotion to this world is quite impressive. Just make sure you don't crumble before the war actually ends."

Yuki smiled. She never thought she would hear such kind words from the Tsuchikage. He was growing on her all of the sudden, just like how she was growing on him. She couldn't say she liked him very much either, but, at the very least, she gained some respect for him for recognizing the effort that others have put in to win the war.

"I'll take my leave then." She said as she flashed herself to Naruto.

She had marked him before the war started knowing that it was going to be needed. As she arrived, he was already facing the Raikage. Tsunade seemed to have sided with Naruto as she stood face to face with the Raikage as well. Bee was also present. He looked at Yuki and smiled at her, glad to have seen a familiar face. She smiled back despite feeling the tension in the air.

"Oi, Yuki! You are reasonable. Talk some reason into Naruto and Bee." The Raikage told her.

"Sorry, Raikage-sama. I'm actually here to help Naruto." Yuki replied as she walked up to Naruto placed her hand on his shoulder as to show him that she was on their side. "I always knew that he would eventually join the fight. I just thought that he had to master the Nine-Tails' chakra first before doing so."

Naruto looked at her and smiled. He knew that she came, not to stop him, but to help him accomplish what he wanted to. She always believed in him no matter what. He knew nothing had changed despite the war. The Raikage, on the other hand, seemed unhappy with her response. He simply ignored her. Naruto tried to force his way through. He was faster Yuki had ever seen him before. However, the Raikage had his lightning cloak on and had no problem matching his speed. It wasn't that the Raikage was impressive, it was the fact that Naruto, in his current state, was able to keep up with his speed. Bee then intervened.

"Brother, ever since you became the Raikage, you've underestimated my power." He told the Raikage as they exchanged blows.

"Is that so? Prove it to me that you are strong enough." He told Bee as they both charged at each other with their infamous lariat.

Bee wasn't wrong. He proved himself to be stronger than the Raikage as he managed to push him away and into the ground. However, it barely did anything to the Raikage who stood up immediately and increased the amount of chakra that formed his lightning cloak. Naruto tried to seize the opportunity to make it past him. The Raikage caught wind of his sudden movement right away and headed towards him with a punch that would certainly kill him if it landed. Yuki flashed herself to Naruto and flashed them both a few steps away from the Raikage as his punch hit the rocks that formed the valley around them instead. The stones crumbled into dust onto the ground.

"Raikage-sama, you've always said that the only ninja who was able to outrun you was Konoha's Yellow Flash." Yuki told him. "I guess this makes two shinobis now who are able to overcome your speed."

"Thank you, Yuki!" Naruto said he began running away from them with Bee following quickly after.

Tsunade smirked as the two of them disappeared in the horizon of the rising sun. Yuki stood there, ready to stop the Raikage if he ever decided to go after them. He didn't. He undid his lightning cloak and walked towards Yuki.

"Do you believe in him?"

"I do." Yuki replied with a genuine smile on her face.

"I've always believed in your judgement." He simply said as he began walking back in direction of the headquarters.

Tsunade looked at Yuki and smiled before following the Raikage's footsteps. Meanwhile, Yuki stood there for a bit. She closed her eyes for a second as the sun blinded her. It was already that time. It was time for the silence of the night to be lifted. The fighting was about to resume. She enjoyed the last few seconds of peace that the warm sun provided her. She didn't know whether she would feel this warmth ever again. She figured it was best to enjoy it now while she still could. She took a deep breath and decided it was time to head back into the war zone.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 67**

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Thank you for reading this new chapter!

I hope you enjoyed it!

Please let me know in the reviews how you are feeling about everything!

xox

Krystal


	69. Chapter 68: Geniuses of their Time

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 68: Geniuses of their Times**

* * *

 **Y** uki caught up to Naruto and Bee as soon as she had readied herself for the battle. She knew he barely had any information about the current situation and that he was just heading into the battle blindly. It was such a typical thing for him to do. Bee wasn't any better. He often did things with his gut feelings as well. He wasn't much of a thinker and was much more of an actor.

"Naruto, you need to understand what's going on first before you randomly jump into the fight." Yuki told him.

"I don't have time for that!" Naruto said. "I'm already late..."

"And you have no idea who and what you are going against." Yuki said. "We will keep moving, but we need to slow down a bit so I can catch you up on what's going on."

"Fine..." He then said as he slowed down his pace a bit.

"First, the enemies are using reincarnations to fight us. They cannot be killed since they are dead. The only way to defeat them is to seal them. There are always sealing teams nearby. Most of them are from the Sand Village. They carry around large cloth scrolls. You can't miss them."

"Gotcha."

"Second, the White Zetsus have the ability to transform themselves into any ally and to copy their chakra. Therefore, right now, nobody knows who the enemy is and who the friend is."

As she told him that, two people who appeared to be allies were heading towards them. Yuki glared at them as no troupes were supposed to be deployed in the area that they were in. Naruto quickly headed towards them and killed them. They revealed themselves to be Zetsus. A tree grew from each of their body as they were being struck down.

"How did you know they were the enemies?" Yuki asked, amazed by his quick reaction.

"They had evil intent within them. I can sense it when I'm in this state."

"Seriously?" Yuki asked. "This makes it so much simpler. Can you use your clone jutsu?"

"For what?"

Yuki sighed before remembering how clueless Naruto could be. She looked at him, exasperated, and then said: "Remember how I said none of the allies can tell enemies and friends apart? If your clones can make it to each battlefield, they would be able to weed out the enemy, therefore, allowing the allies to fight together once again, rather than doubting each other."

"OH! That's a great plan!" Naruto said enthusiastically before creating just about 10 clones of himself.

Yuki then gave them the approximate coordinates of each division so that they could come to their aid. She then contacted Inojin, who now was used to having her telepathically talk to him all of the sudden, to let every battlefield know that Naruto was about to come over and help them identify the White Zetsus among them. Meanwhile, he let her know that the Fourth Division was now facing what seemed like the former Kages of the Sand, the Cloud, the Mist and the Stone village.

"I'm coming with you!" Naruto said.

"I think your priority, right now, is to get rid of the White Zetsus." Yuki told him. "You are the only one who can recognize them despite their chakra imitation. Besides, I'm sure there are more enemies on the way. They probably found out that you and Bee have entered the battle. Keep your eyes open wide. The Fourth Division didn't come into contact with the White Zetsus so there are none among them. I'll head there first to lend them a hand. You can join us later when you are done with your job."

"Just as bossy as ever, eh?" Naruto teased her.

He agreed however with her plan. He couldn't fault. It was indeed the best way to fight this war. She always believed in his abilities to make the impossible possible. He always believed in her brain and reasoning. Nothing had changed. As they bid their farewell, Yuki teleported herself to where Gaara was. As she appeared, the Sharingan in both her eyes appeared as well. This was another fight that she knew she had to utilize those cursed eyes.

"It's a different look for you." Gaara told her as she stood by his side.

She smiled as she closed her eyes, sensing the enormous amount of chakra that was heading towards them.

"One of them is my father." Gaara told her.

"Do you want me to..."

"No. I'll fight him myself." He replied firmly. "Perhaps, I'll get some answers that way as well."

"The best way to fight them is to separate. They were four Kages after all. Fighting them all at once would be too hard." Yuki told him.

He did not disagree. He gave the orders to split the forces into four, each to go after one of the Kages. He would lead the group to fight his own father. As they began splitting up, Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, appeared and told them:

"I'll take care of the Second Tsuchikage."

As he said those words, they were attacked by the four former Kages. Along with Gaara's sand, Yuki created a large ice wall to protect the Allied Shinobi before heading out to fight the Third Raikage as they had planned. She lead a group of shinobi who had the best wind manipulation jutsu as lightning was weak against wind. As she managed to separate him from the remaining Kages, she began worrying about the remaining people, including Onoki who she wasn't really a fan of. She wasn't given much time to be concerned about everyone's safety however. The Third Raikage was no easy target. He was known, from her readings during her time in Kumogakure, that he had impenetrable defense and unstoppable attacks thanks to his lightning armor. He was also known to be just as quick if not quicker than the current Raikage. The reason why she offered to take care of him was that she knew she was the only one who could keep up with his speed. However, she wasn't sure she would be able to take down his armor.

"Fight me with your best wind jutsu." He told them.

None of the Kages were out to truly kill them. They were merely puppets who were reluctant to fight. Actually, they hated the idea of having to fight people who, especially, could be of their own village. After all, their lives were dedicated to protect those from their village. However, as if the jutsu caster caught wind of their leniency, the Raikage appeared to be soulless and was now fighting them without sparing anything. Yuki ordered everyone to back off as they were now no match of him in such a state. He no longer controlled his movements and was out to kill them. As she dodged each of his attacks skillfully, she still couldn't land an attack on him. He had no blind spot, no weak spot in his armor. She truly began questioning how she would be able to stop his movement in order to seal him. Temari, from the ground, tried her best to hinder him with her wind jutsu in order to gain Yuki some time to think and figure out how to defeat the Third Raikage. As she fought him for a bit longer, she noticed that he had a scar on his chest. It had to mean that he was struck there once. It was also in the shape of a lightning.

That's when she had an idea. She immediately contacted Bee telepathically.

"Bee-sama! Can I talk to Hachibi?"

"Eh? Who's this?"

"Yuki. Sorry, I should've said something, but it's kind of an emergency."

"Gotcha. Switching over..."

"Hachibi-sama?"

"What? Kiddo, you are not usually this polite. What do you want?"

"I remember reading about your fight against the Third Raikage. It was the only episode I could remember where he had actually collapsed after a fight."

"To be honest, I don't remember much about that fight. All I know is that we both collapsed forward onto the ground after pushing against each other non-stop. Wait, Naruto wants to say something to you."

Yuki quickly disconnected her telepathic communication with Bee and switched over to Naruto.

"What's up?" She asked him as she dodged another one of the Third Raikage's attack.

"Is he like the old man Raikage?"

"Yes, except older."

"You know that lightning armor they have?" Naruto asked her.

"Yeah?"

"What if their broke it themselves? I don't think any of us can destroy it, but..."

"Naruto, you are a genius!" Yuki exclaimed.

"I am?"

"You have no idea."

"I really don't." He said, definitely sounding clueless.

"I'll tell you later. Or you'll probably figure it out on your own later. Say thanks to Bee and Hachibi for me."

She stopped their conversation to focus on the battle in front of her. She sensed one of the Kage's chakra being sealed away. It gave her a sense of relief but also motivated her to complete the task at hand. She used her Amaterasu to distract the Raikage as he knew he had to dodge those eternal flames at all cost. As he did, she had set up a trap where his arm was now attached by chakra strings and she could freely control it. She bent it in a way where his arm went right through his chest. Naruto was right. The only weapon strong enough to break through that armor was his own fingers. As he was struck in that spot again, he was unable to move for a few second, allowing Yuki to seal him with her ice jutsu while maintaining that arm within his chest with the skills she had learned as a puppeteer.

"I've got to give it to you, Yuki." Temari said as she walked over to Yuki as she finished sealing the Third Raikage. "You really learn fast and impeccably."

"Thank Kankuro for me?" Yuki said as she now flashed herself to where the Tsuchikage was fighting his predecessor.

He seemed to be struggling as his age finally came to reveal itself in his stamina. Gaara was occupied with the Second Mizukage. It was up to Yuki to give the Tsuchikage assistance, whether he appreciated it or not. He actually seemed relieved that she came. She looked around and it seemed like most of their surrounding was reduced to dust. It was the infamous Dust Release that the two Tsuchikage had mastered throughout the years.

"You can wield all five elements?" Mu then asked Yuki as she appeared on scene.

"You can tell?" Yuki asked him as she was healing the current Tsuchikage while maintaining her guard up as she didn't know when the former would be attacking them.

"I can sense chakra well enough that I can sense what type you have." He replied. "I can also tell that you can manipulate them to such an extent that all of them could be the one you originally had affinity to."

"The younger generation is quite impressive, isn't it?" Onoki then told his mentor. "That's why I can't lose against you now."

Those words surprised Yuki. She didn't know that was how Onoki truly felt about them. She always sensed some doubt in him about her generation. However, she could now tell that he meant what he said. He truly felt like they were now able to surpass the people of his age.

"Watch closely and learn. If there's someone who I believe could master it, it would be you." He told her as he prepared to use his Dust Release once again.

"You'll end up missing again." Mu told him as he tried to make an escape.

However, to his surprise, Yuki had blocked off any of his escape routes with her Amaterasu. He had very little choice: either be burnt eternally by the flames or be reduced to atomic particles by Onoki's dust release. Within seconds, he was no longer present in front of them. Yuki put out the fire and as Mu's body began reappearing piece by piece just like any other reincarnation, she sealed him away with her ice. She could however see that he was saying something, but she couldn't hear it nor read his lips to understand. It bothered her. She couldn't dwell on it for too long as they still had other businesses to attend to. She made sure that the Tsuchikage was healed properly before letting him go.

"Did you look at it carefully?" He then asked her as she was mending his bones.

"The Dust Release? I did."

"Practice it once you have time. It's my thank you for coming to help me."

"Aren't you scared I would use it against your village someday?"

"Ha, like you would. I've watched you since the Kages' Summit. If there's one thing I can be certain of, it is that you want peace more than anything."

"What if the only way to peace was to destroy your village?"

"Then I must have not learned anything from this war." He replied. "You and Gaara have taught me a lot. I never thought I would admit to it, but I figured why the heck not say it. Who knows if we will all still be here tomorrow. Besides, what is pride to this old man anyway? I'm already sharing my village's secret technique to a stranger because I believe only you can master it. Even my predecessor believed so."

"Thanks..." Yuki said as she removed her hands from his back. "You should be able to move freely now."

"It definitely feels better." He said as he stretched his back.

She smiled as she looked at the old man trying to straighten his back as much as possible. At that moment, he reminded her of the Third Hokage. She felt honored that he had so much faith in her as to pass on his ultimate jutsu to her, an outsider. She promised to herself to master it once the war would be over. She couldn't let that good thought go to waste. She also prayed for them both to survive this war so that he could teach her properly once it was all over. She wanted to know the Tsuchikage for more than the cynical old man she had seen him as for the past few days.

As they headed towards Gaara, Yuki suddenly sensed a familiar chakra miles away from where they were. However, the chakra was so special to her that it caught her attention right away. Onoki seemed to have noticed that something was wrong.

"What is it?" He asked her.

"I'm not too sure, but I also know that I'm not mistaken." She replied. "I need to contact the headquarters."

"Just go." The Tsuchikage told her. "Don't look down on this old man and Gaara. We will definitely seal the Second Mizukage."

"I was hoping you could sit back and relax." She replied teasingly.

"Just go. You must have your reasons for wanting to go." He replied as he continued to head towards Gaara as she flashed herself back to the headquarters to make sure that she had sensed the right thing.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 68**

* * *

And so day two of the war starts.

Thank you for reading this chapter.

Let me know how you like/dislike this story so far.

xox

Krystal


	70. Chapter 69: A Breather

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 69: A Breather**

* * *

 **Y** uki's sudden appearance at the headquarters made a few people jump. Usually, she would only come if she was asked to come or if something unexpected had happened. However, neither was the case. Without a word, she headed to the Sensing Water Sphere created by Ao and connected herself to it. Nobody said anything as everyone, by now, knew she wasn't one to act without reason.

"It's definitely his." She mumbled. "He's heading towards Naruto and Bee."

"Who are you talking about?" Tsunade walked up to her and asked.

"Itachi." She simply replied as her eyes filled up with tears unknowingly. "I'm heading over there."

"Hold on. You need to calm yourself first." Tsunade told her. "Just remember that he isn't who you think he is. He's a reincarnation, he..."

Before she could finish, Yuki had already disappeared and reappeared where Naruto was. He was surprised by her presence, but did not dare ask any questions as he noticed her expression. Instead, he simply remained silent and quickly gave sign for Bee for do the same. She was thankful that he noticed how she was feeling and allowed her to stay quiet as she was unsure what to tell him. She took a deep breath and finally said to him:

"Itachi is just ahead."

She could hear him gulp down his saliva in anxiety. Naruto heard about the truth about Itachi. However, he was still uncertain whether he should believe it or not. On the other hand, he knew that Yuki believed in Itachi. He knew that Yuki saw Itachi as a friend, a brother even. He wasn't nervous about fighting Itachi, he feared Yuki's reaction when she would see him. He knew how much Itachi meant to her.

Finally, they came face to face. He wasn't alone. He was accompanied by someone Naruto recognized as Nagato. They weren't in control of their own actions. Nagato was apologetic about his actions and tried to warn them before every move that he made. Bee took care of him for most of the part. He struggled however. Yuki had her sharingan activated and was able to keep up with Itachi without much trouble while Naruto was in awe of how agile and how skilled Uchiha Itachi actually was. Every time they had faced each other, Itachi remained still and only used genjutsu against them. He didn't bother to fight. It wasn't that he thought they were too weak to even bother, it was because he was unwilling to fight. He was never out there to harm them. He was there to protect them. The only way to fight without hurting them was through genjutsu.

"You are that girl who sacrificed her life for another during the attack against Konohagakure." Nagato told Yuki as they were now facing off.

"I heard about you after the incident. I owe you my life." Yuki replied as she tried to take down his summoning animals.

"You don't owe me anything. I should have never taken your life in the first place."

"I never thought I would have to fight you again." She told him as she stopped herself from being pulled towards him by his gravitational jutsu.

Meanwhile, Bee was occupied by Itachi who seemed to be unfazed by any of his attacks. Yuki glanced over and was only thankful that he wasn't using the Susano against them. Itachi then moved over to where Yuki and Nagato were fighting. Naruto also made it to the scene. As Itachi's mangekyo activated itself, Naruto started sensing something rumbling inside his body. Suddenly a crow emerged from his body and stared into the reincarnated Itachi's eyes. Itachi's movement changed at that moment. He began burning down the summoning animals with his Amaterasu. He then did the same to Nagato who then fell onto the ground. As Naruto was still confused about what had happened and why there was a crow living inside of him, Yuki quickly went and fought alongside Itachi to get rid of the remaining enemies.

"It's been a while since we were a team." Itachi told her.

"You never cease to surprise me." Yuki said. "Who would have thought that the reincarnation jutsu had such a weakness point."

"It wasn't meant for this purpose though." Itachi said as he sighed. "I suppose Sasuke hasn't returned the village yet?"

"How did you know?"

"If he did, it would have been the first thing you would have told me or you would have brought him immediately here to see me."

Yuki smiled. She didn't know she was that predictable. Perhaps he was one of the only people who always really knew what she was thinking about all the time. The fight against Nagato didn't allow them to talk anymore than that. He pushed away the eternal flames from his body and began moving around again. He somehow managed to latch himself onto Bee and began extracting the chakra from his enemy to make it his own. By doing so, he was able to freely move around once again. He then summoned even more animals to fight by his side and quickly headed towards Naruto. He got a hold of Naruto who seemingly was struggling to break free. Yuki assumed that his soul was being extracted from him. She tried to quickly make her way there to help him, but was met with those weird summoning monsters. Bee made his way close enough to be within range. However, Nagato also got a hold of him and was just about to fire a gun-like weapon to his head. Itachi appeared right at the moment with his Susano and managed to save them both. Nagato seemed surprised that he got past all the eyes that were connected by the Rinnegan. However, he then noticed that Yuki had something to do with it. Itachi and Yuki did not have to exchange words to be able to come up with a perfect strategy. She blinded all the eyes in the surrounding using her speed while Itachi waited for the perfect opportunity to come in and grab Naruto and Bee away from Nagato.

"You are both such lifesavers." Naruto said as he was thankful to have kept his soul.

Before they could celebrate, they heard Nagato's voice:

"Planetary Devastation."

A black mass was thrown into the sky and began pulling everything in the surrounding towards it, including themselves. Yuki unleashed her mangekyo sharingan and looked directly at it.

"Kamui." She murmured.

The mass slowly was sucked into a different dimension as the gravitational force ceased itself where they were. Nagato was seemingly distracted by the sudden disappearance of his jutsu. In that moment, Itachi used the Totsuka Sword to seal Nagato. All the movements stopped as silence and peace, once again, reigned upon the forest they had just fought in.

"Any last words, Nagato?" Itachi asked him.

"Just to Naruto..." Nagato began. "I'll finally be able to go to where our master is. I'll watch your story unfold with him. We'll be cheering you on."

He paused for a second and continued, looking at Yuki now: "You... You have very special eyes and soul."

With that, he was sealed forever. Yuki wasn't too sure what he meant by that. Sure, she had the mangekyo sharingan, but it wasn't that special. Nagato had seen it before. Itachi had a much more powerful version of it. It wasn't something to be labelled as special. Despite her confusion, she was just glad it finally came to an end without anybody getting hurt. She undid her sharingan and the natural color of her eyes returned.

"I didn't realize to what extent you have been able to use them." Itachi told her.

"I can't say I'm an expert with them just yet. They also consume a lot of chakra. I've also been struggling with that."

"What now?" Naruto asked.

"Well, you still need to make it to the different battlefields. Last time I checked, some are still waiting for your arrival." Yuki said.

"And I'm going to stop this reincarnation jutsu." Itachi then said.

"How?" Yuki asked him. "I'll come with you."

"No. You are needed elsewhere. You know that. I can't tell you how long it would take to stop it, but for now, you need to be elsewhere."

"Let me at least put a seal on you so I can come and help you if you ever..."

"Why would you want to appear in front of the dead?" Itachi asked jokingly. "I wouldn't want you to follow me to the afterlife."

"I..."

Yuki bit her lip. He chuckled and lifted his arm towards her.

"Go ahead." He said. "It doesn't hurt to have someone to come to your aid once in a while."

Yuki placed her seal on his sleeve. Without another word, he headed off. She wasn't expecting a goodbye from him. He was always like that. He left the village without a proper farewell. He left this world without saying much either. Now, he was putting an end to it all without another word yet again. Yuki remembered how she used to perceive ANBUs. He was exactly what she had always envisioned them being like at that moment. He, once again, would quietly bring peace to the world without the knowledge of everyone. He liked it that way. She watched his back as he disappeared into the forest wishing him good luck, wishing the world good luck and thanking him for his service.

Naruto then stepped up next to her and awkwardly told her:

"I know this isn't the best timing... but, you know Omoi, right?"

"Did something happen to him?" She asked quickly, snapping out of it just as quickly as she started daydreaming.

"Not exactly, but yes..." Naruto said. "One of my clones was with him, but he accidentally killed it. He is on his own right now in a danger zone. Something about... what was it again... eh... AH! The Thundercloud Unit!"

Without further delay, Yuki teleported herself to where Omoi was. The Thundercloud Unit meant a lot to him as he was once part of them. They were a group of elite children from Kumogakure. Despite their young age, their skills allowed them to join the war, but only as part of the supply unit. They weren't to engage in any fight if possible. Something must have happened to them for Omoi to have rushed over to help them. The Thundercloud Unit meant a lot to Yuki as well. During her stay in Kumogakure, she helped trained some of the current members of the Unit. Although she wasn't involved daily with them, she still cared dearly about them. Furthermore, they were children. They should have never been brought onto the battlefield. Their innocence was taken away from them because of the current state of the world. She couldn't allow anything bad to happen to them.

As she appeared, she found herself surrounded by a pink fog. Not too far away was Omoi fighting off some white Zetsus who were seemingly stronger than the ones they had encountered before. She rushed over joined in the fight while holding her breath as she wasn't sure what the pink fog was all about. As she began running out of air, she quickly jumped up high enough to be above the smokescreen. As she took in some fresh air, she quickly headed back down to lend Omoi a hand in fighting those white Zetsus. While they were fighting, Yuki tried to locate where the Thundercloud Unit was. They shouldn't be too far if Omoi made his way here. However, it was hard to sense their chakra among the thousands of Zetsus that were present at the scene. They had to move elsewhere. As they fought their way through, they got close to a water source. Yuki pointed it out to Omoi and the two of them dove into the water quickly. Once in, Yuki used one of her water jutsu to create a bubble around them, allowing them to finally breath properly.

"They are still alive. I know it." Omoi then told her.

"I have no doubts about that either." She replied. "That's why I headed here right away. Time is ticking though. That pink fog is heavily poisoned."

"It's from the red soil." He told her. "Its gas is highly toxic. If inhaled, you wouldn't be able to live past 30 minutes."

"The kids are probably hiding somewhere the gas cannot leak in. Let me enter the sage mode to find them." She said as she sat down in the bubble and began collecting Nature energy.

"You better do it quickly, they are swimming towards us." Omoi said, talking about the White, or now, Pink Zetsus.

Although he was rushing her, he knew he had to give her enough time. Even though he didn't say it explicitly, he was impressed at her skills as a shinobi now. He always knew how strong she was, but he never thought it was possible for her to reach this level in the short amount of time that they were away from each other.

"Found them." Yuki said as she stood up, ready to take action.

They both took one more breath of air and busted out of the bubble, both using a lightning jutsu to kill every single Zetsus that had followed them into the water. They then rushed onto the land and headed in the direction of the Thundercloud Unit. As they got closer, the kids had just gone out of their hiding spot, knowing they wouldn't last much longer in there. They had also entered the fight against the White Zetsus. One of them then fell onto the ground and Yuki quickly rushed over to protect him from the White Zetsus. She grabbed him and pushed him away from danger as she fought against the enemies. The Thundercloud Unit reunited with Omoi and together, they touched tip and created a large scale lightning jutsu that eradicated most of the Zetsus present. As the ground got burnt in the process, the gas stopped spreading into the air as well. With a wind jutsu, Yuki blew the remainder of the gas away from them. They could now breathe freely. Together, they got rid of the rest of the enemies without a problem.

"Yuki-san!" One of them called out as they finally killed the last one. "I haven't seen you in forever."

Yuki smiled and walked over to him.

"You've grown a lot, Yukai." She said. "I'm glad to see that you are well."

"It's all thanks to the both of you." He replied as Omoi made his way over.

"Let's head out to complete the mission you were entrusted with first before I can accept your thank you." Omoi told him, pointing at the supplies that the Thundercloud Unit was carrying.

The kids agreed as they were about to set out again. Omoi was going to accompany them when he noticed that Yuki had now turned their back to them. She believed her job was done and was going to head back to the headquarters to give them an update on the current situation on the battlefield, including Itachi's sudden appearance and lending hand to the Allied Shinobi. She wanted everyone to know, now, what that man had done for them. It was enough with all the secrecy. He deserved the acknowledgement of everyone. Just as she was about to bid them farewell, Omoi grabbed onto her wrist and asked her to stay for a little while longer. He immediately let go, however, remembering that she now had someone in her heart and it would be disrespectful towards that person for him to not know his boundaries.

"I feel like I owe you an apology." Omoi then said. "I... Honestly, despite us fighting together as a team yesterday, I still felt like you didn't care about any of us all that much."

"I don't blame you." Yuki replied as she looked at him in the eyes.

"Still. I wanted to say sorry and thank you for coming here to help."

"It's my duty to..."

"No. You could have gone elsewhere to help, but you chose this location in particular." Omoi interrupted her. "I know this isn't the right time to discuss these things, but I really wanted you to realize that you care a lot more than you believe yourself to care. If that made any sense..."

He thought again about what he said and was uncertain that his point came across right. He sighed. Perhaps he was overthinking again, but he felt like that didn't come out the way it should have. Yuki chuckled at the sight of a confused Omoi.

"I've got to give it you. You actually can confuse your own thoughts since you have so many. I got your point though. Don't worry."

"Good. Don't say it's simply your duty again. You are a lot more compassionate than you think you are." He said as he rushed after the Thundercloud Unit with a slight blush on his cheeks.

He waved goodbye all the way as Yuki, with a smile on her face, disappeared in a whirlwind of snow. He always knew how to put a smile on her face. Had she stayed in Kumogakure that year, things might have turned out differently between the two of them. It perhaps would have been the ending he wished for. She was grateful that he felt happy for her. With those thoughts in mind, she appeared in the headquarters and walked towards the Kages' table to give them the update, not forgetting to give both Itachi and Omoi credit for what they had done for the war so far.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 69**

* * *

Thank you again for reading this story!

Let me know what you are looking forward next in this story!

xox

Krystal


	71. Chapter 70: Losing

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 70: Losing**

* * *

 **"C** an we really trust him?" The Raikage asked as Yuki finished explaining what Itachi planned on doing.

"I would trust him with my life." Yuki replied firmly, slightly annoyed that they still had doubts about him.

Tsunade simply looked down to the desk, realizing how many dark secrets were kept from her despite her status as the Hokage. Shikaku was also shocked to hear that Itachi was actually on their side. Everybody's belief of what was the truth became shaken by Yuki's story. She knew that Itachi wanted to preserve the prestige of his clan's name, but Yuki believed that there was no longer any point in protecting it as the sole survivor, Sasuke, had no intention in preserving its loyalty to Konohagakure.

"That's all we can do anyways." Tsunade finally concluded.

Yuki was relieved by her answer. As they all came to an agreement that they would put their trust in Itachi to put an end to the reincarnation jutsus, the fights against those reincarnations was still going on. Shikaku updated her on the status of each division. Naruto or one of his clones had arrived to most battlefield, allowing for the Allied Army to distinguish between friend and foe. Meanwhile, some shinobis became isolated from their division as they were fighting against the enemy. Because of the large scale of the war, it was nearly impossible to reach out to everyone to allow for orders of regrouping to be given. While trying to figure out what the next course of action would be, Inoichi informed them that the Medical Team had reached out to them.

"Sakura just asked for some help as someone is using a snow jutsu in one of the Medical Tents."

"Snow jutsu?" Yuki asked as she stood up right away from her seat.

"Because it reminded her of you, she asked for your backup." Inoichi explained. "Kiba is also facing someone who is controlling thunderstorms. Ino-Shika-Cho are confronted by someone with power over the rain. From their description, it looks like it is all the same person."

"So this person is able to use a clone jutsu that is just as powerful as Naruto and can control weather at will?" Tsunade asked as she summed up the information provided.

Inoichi nodded still trying to comprehend what was being reported by the various battlefields.

"Let me head to each location and figure out what's going on." Yuki said. "I don't remember such a human being existing, nor reading about someone who can control the weather to such extent."

She then teleported herself, first, to the Medical Unit where Sakura was facing a snowstorm. As Yuki appeared, she realized that their enemy was a child, not much older than 5 or 6 years old. He didn't look threatening, but as he danced around, snow kept falling from the sky in lumps that could crush someone's bone. She didn't recognize him. He had no traits that allowed her to tell which clan he belonged to either. Sakura exchanged looks with Yuki and the two of them charged at the kid, trying to stop him from moving. However, he was agile enough to escape their attack. He moved a little further away from them and continued his little dance. Suddenly, he rushed towards them and flicked their foreheads.

"Yota!" Sakura exclaimed.

It was a familiar name to Yuki too. There was no way Yuki wouldn't remember someone she had encountered in her lifetime. Her memory had always been good when it came to people, not to mention someone who was a friend. Yota was a kid that she encountered back in Konohagakure as a child herself. She was training and somehow ran into him. A lot of images came back into Yuki's mind at that moment. She looked at Sakura who nodded as she remembered them too. They were friends before they even knew it. They just couldn't remember it. It wasn't just them. Naruto, Kiba, Ino, Choji and Shikamaru were part of the group too. As they found out about it, Yuki quickly communicated telepathically with Naruto.

"Naruto, we just ran into Yota, multiple one that is."

"I am fighting against Yota as well." He said. "I'm sure I'm fighting the real one. He's whistling that melody."

"So the ones in front of us..." Yuki began as she realized they were just White Zetsus.

Without further delay, she used her lightning spear to kill it. It pained her to do so as their reunion was so quick, but it wasn't the real Yota anyways. She relayed the message to Shikamaru and Kiba and urged them to kill the impostors as well. She, then, flashed herself to where Naruto was and met up with the real Yota. He was indeed whistling the tune that they had once taught him. Naruto exchanged looks with Yuki and she prepared to seal Yota. As his movements were impeded, he relayed his last thoughts to them all.

 _"Everyone... When I met you all, it was so fun. We were so little. You've all grown up so much. I'm so happy to have been able to see you all again. I'm truly very happy."_

"I'm so sorry Yota..." They heard Sakura say.

 _"Don't be sorry, that's because I was already dead when I met everyone. This time, don't forget me, alright?"_

With those words, Yuki's seal was complete and Yota was now buried in a snow globe. Yuki bit her lip as she reminded herself of the days they had with Yota. They were the happiest days in her childhood. They also were the happiest day Naruto had. They just couldn't remember those days. Now that they could, they were the most painful days to remember. Yota was the first person they failed to save in their lives. Yota was well aware of the pain it would bring them and decided to alter their memories so that he would become non-existent to them. Because of that, they forgot that they were once friends. Fate still brought everyone back together. However, Yota became a forgotten memory. She was thankful he brought those memories back to them as he reappeared despite the pain that came along.

* * *

The nature of the war didn't allow them to stay and mourn the loss of their friend much longer. Yuki and Naruto quickly joined up with different divisions who was facing more reincarnations than anticipated. It seemed as though Kabuto, the one who controlled them, had released even more reincarnations onto the battlefield. Yuki joined up with Gaara's division as they were the one who seemingly had to most enemies at their tails. Meanwhile Naruto joined up with Kakashi's division to finish off the remaining reincarnations.

As she arrived, the enemies were trying to remove the seals on already incapacitated former Kages. Yuki came in time just to stop them from doing so. She then used a large scale ice jutsu to stop many from being able to move, giving just enough time for the sealing team to get to each and everyone of them.

"You could have used that earlier." Onoki said as he floated his way next to her.

"They weren't the most nimble ninjas, that's why it worked." Yuki said with a smirk on her face.

As they believed they had a moment to breathe and to relax, Yuki sensed an immense source of chakra appear just a few yards away from them. She quickly entered her sage mode and summoned Kiku to her side. She knew there was no other way. Alarmed by her sudden reaction, Gaara quickly headed over and asked:

"What is it?"

"Someone crazy powerful just appeared. I just don't know who..." Yuki said as her sharingans took place in her eyes.

Gaara ordered everyone to back away. He didn't want lives to be lost unnecessarily. He also ordered the Communication team to let the headquarters know of the current situation. As they began reporting back, the shinobis who still hadn't had the time to move back were hit out of nowhere and killed instantly. A dark figure appeared within the chaos.

"That's Madara." Onoki said. "I recognize him. I've fought against him before. There's no doubt about it."

"He's a reincarnation..." Yuki murmured.

Things weren't adding up. If the real Madara was dead, who was the masked man? She quickly relayed the new intelligence to Inoichi so that everyone could be made aware of the false identity of the masked man. Naruto and Bee were then ordered to go after that man. The real Madara kept going on his rampage as he fought the thousands allied shinobis without blinking an eye. He gave very little care about their lives. He seemed to find joy in mass murdering. Gaara and Yuki were trying their best to use protective jutsus to prevent as many deaths as possible. However, they both found it hard to keep up with him. The only way seemed to occupy his attention so that he wouldn't go after the others.

"We need to send Tsunade-sama and the Raikage over there." Inoichi then communicated with Yuki.

"Are you telling me to come back to the headquarters live?" Yuki asked as she used a water jutsu to stop Madara's fireballs from hitting the Allied Shinobis.

"It's the fastest way." He replied.

"What about the Mizukage?" She then asked.

"Genma's team are on it. Although they aren't as proficient as you are in the Flying Thunder God Technique, they can manage together." Inoichi explained.

Yuki looked at Gaara and gave him a nod as to tell him that she would be back soon. She flashed herself to the headquarters and quickly grabbed onto Tsunade and A. Without further delay, she appeared at the scene where Madara continuously destroyed everything that he could. Just a few seconds later, the Mizukage along with Genma, Raido and Iwashi appeared. Yuki and Tsunade quickly rushed over to Gaara and Onoki as they got injured during the time they were travelling across the lands to get here. It was only a few seconds, but they were already injured to the point that without treatment, they could no longer move. As Tsunade took over the healing, Yuki headed out to assist the Raikage and Mizukage in their fight against Madara.

"Konohagakure has gotten weak, sending a child to fight me." Madara said noticing Yuki going after him.

"You are underestimating all of us." The Raikage said as he used his speed to his advantage and tried to take Madara by surprise.

Yuki tried to confuse Madara even further with her own Flying Thunder God Technique. He recognized the technique right away as he knew the Second Hokage far too well.

"I haven't seen that technique in a while. I must say, you are much more proficient than Tobirama was. You are an Uchiha as well." He said as he opened his arms as if he was welcoming her.

"The new generation learn from the previous and they also learn not to make the same mistake." She replied as she trapped him in an ice-like dome, similar to what Haku used to create the illusion of infinite images. "And you are mistaken, I am not an Uchiha."

Throughout the years, Yuki learned many techniques and adapted many to her own advantage. She didn't know how, but she usually managed to master every technique there was to learn. Some called them a genius, others believed it was kind of freaky that she could do so. Nonetheless, so far, it has helped both her and her village. The ice, however, was not enough to stop Madara who melted it with a large scale fire jutsu, directed in all four cardinal points. The Kages and Yuki rushed to create a huge water fortress to stop the fire from injuring the shinobis who were still trying to escape the scene as they were instructed by their respective leaders.

Madara stretched his neck a bit and told Yuki:

"Those eyes don't lie though. They are yours and reflect the history of the Uchiha Clan. I won't kill a fellow clan member, but don't stand in my way. Swords are blind and ruthless."

As he finished those words, he weaved signs with his hands that Yuki recognized as the ones that would allow for...

"That's my grandfather's technique." Tsunade said as the ground beneath their feet began to shake and roots rose from it.

Everyone tried hard to maintain their balance as the ground became covered in roots. They weren't just roots. They were trees where flowers grew on. As Onoki recovered from his injuries, he was able to levitate himself and quickly headed for Madara, hoping to be able to stop him while he was preoccupied with creating this gigantic forest. Ultimately, he failed and, instead, Madara planted an attack on them as the flowers bloomed and released a toxic pollen into the air. There was no doubt that inhaling any of that poison would lead to a complete knock out. They couldn't afford that. Gaara looked over at Yuki as he rose above the pollen widespread, creating a sand island in the air. The other Kages quickly went onto it to avoid breathing in any toxins. Onoki had been knocked down by Madara just earlier and was unable to use his levitation at that point. He might have had a few broken bones as well. Yuki quickly teleported herself to him and then them both to where Gaara was. Tsunade tended to Onoki wounds once again as the others looked at the new landscape that had just been created in front of their eyes.

Yuki bit her lip. They knew they only had to hold out until the reincarnation jutsu would be over, but it wasn't an easy task. Sacrifices had to be made in order to drag out time. She couldn't help but wonder if Itachi would be able to make it in time. So many lives had already been taken. How many more would be lost if the battle kept being dragged out? In that moment of pondering, Madara attacked them from a blind spot as he unleashed his Susano. As they all fell to the ground, he set the forest on fire. As oxygen ran low and poison filled the air, one by one, they lost consciousness. Yuki was the last one standing. She was still managing to hold her breath. She had done it before for such a long period of time. She could do it again. She tried to put out the fire, but it became hard for her to infuse chakra to do so. Kiku had also left her side as they landed back into the man-made forest. She was, therefore, no longer in her sage mode. As she kneeled down, Madara approached her and looked at her in the eyes. She could tell he was trying to change her mind. She tried to fight it. However, she wasn't that strong anymore. She couldn't win against someone whose eyes had been trained for years and years, seeing and experiencing all sort of things. She was no match more him. As she kept fighting despite slowly losing herself, her sight became blurry and all her senses became numb to the surrounding environment.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 70**

* * *

Again, thank you for reading this chapter!

xox

Krystal


	72. Chapter 71: The Will to Fight

**Forgotten**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

* * *

 **Chapter 71: The Will to Fight**

* * *

 **I** t was as if she was transported elsewhere. She could no longer feel the heat from the flames burning down the forest that was once below her feet. As slowly opened her eyes, she realized she wasn't elsewhere. The fire was still burning around her. She was simply enclosed in Madara's Susano. She tried to move as she was in the perfect location to attack Madara, but she simply couldn't.

"Don't waste your energy." He told her as he finally noticed her. "Nobody has ever broken out of my binding jutsu. Instead, look around you and look at these pathetic human beings."

She looked down and saw each of the Kages, unconscious and waiting for the flames to eat their flesh away. She struggled even more as she grew anxious for their lives. She had to do something. All she could do was cry out their names individually, hoping that one of them still had a little bit of consciousness left in them to move.

"I saved you only for the reason that you might be one of the last Uchiha left." He said. "However, Konohagakure and Hashirama's will of fire made you weak."

"I've told you before. I'm not an Uchiha."

"Stolen eyes then?" He asked as he frowned.

"No." She replied coldly. "I would never. I would rather go blind then use somebody else's eyes."

He smirked and asked: "Have you been blind before?"

She shook her head as she was no longer really listening to him. She was trying to undo his jutsu. She knew it worked like a sealing jutsu, but she had to find the right key to undo it. She had no time to waste, but, like he said, nobody has ever broken out of his binding jutsu.

"It's scary when you can't see anything. You start falling into despair as you start losing your vision. Especially for people like us who can see so well normally. When you start losing yourself through blindness, you think of the unthinkable. You start thinking of anything that could restore your sight, including sacrificing another. At that point, you start forgetting that you are a human."

"Perhaps you were never a human to start with." Yuki said as she was still focusing on breaking the jutsu.

"I once believed in the peace Hashirama talked about. Perhaps that's the human you are talking about. If so, I was a human. Your First Hokage made me believe it was possible, but he was wrong. Look around you. Can't you see? No matter how hard you fight for peace, it is still a fight. With fighting comes death and despair. With that, even a rational mind starts losing itself. Humans are pathetic. They aren't strong enough for this world."

"There would be no war to start with if people stopped believing in such non-sense like you. War can be stopped by building bonds between these so called weak humans." Yuki said.

With those words, she noticed Onoki preparing and using what was left of his chakra to destroy the flowers and, in his jutsu's pathway, destroyed part of Madara's Susano, thus injuring him. Yuki managed to break free at that exact moment as well and quickly flashed herself to Tsunade's side, providing her first aid so that she would awaken. She quickly opened her eyes and thanked Yuki. They were both looking up towards Madara now with disgust written all over their faces. As he was recovering from Onoki's attack, on his body, they could now see a familiar face.

"No wonder he could use my grandfather's jutsu." Tsunade said angrily.

"He grafted the First Hokage's into his skin..." Yuki said in disbelief.

"You both seem disgusted at this." He said, pointing to his chest where the graft was located. "What I find disgusting is a weak Senju and a weak Uchiha, although what I detest the most is a weak Senju."

Tsunade smirked and stopped Yuki who was about to come to her defense. She wasn't going to let someone like him tarnish her name in such manner. She looked at Yuki and smiled warmly. Yuki took a step back as she understood what that smile meant. The Hokage was ready to risk it all in order to defend her name and the people she cared the most about. She took a step forward towards Madara who then proceeded to calling her, in a mockingly manner, a weak woman. Tsunade bit her inferior lip and said:

"A woman, yes, but not a weak one. I am a descendant of the greatest shinobi of all time, after all."

"What does this descendant have to offer? The Will of Fire?" He asked, looking down on their beliefs and will to fight.

"Don't underestimate the Will of Fire." Tsunade said firmly. "It allowed me to become the medical ninja that I am today."

As she finished those words, the mark on her forehead began to glow and the seal released itself, slowly tracing a pattern onto her body. Yuki smiled at the sight. She knew what it was. Tsunade had taught her the technique before, but with her limited amount of chakra and her missions, she was unable to achieve the feat that Tsunade had achieved.

"Sure, I didn't inherit my grandfather's Wood Style. However, I did inherit his medical ninjutsu skills which I still pass down to my students. Along with those skills, I remind them of three important rules. One, a medical ninja should never give up on treatment." Tsunade said.

"Two, a medical ninja should never fight at the front line." Yuki said as she tightened her ponytail, ready to fight alongside Tsunade, remembering her mentor's words.

"Three, a medical ninja should never die before the rest of her squad members." Tsunade completed as the seal pattern also finished covering her body. "However, if a medical ninja masters the Creation Rebirth Technique..."

"None of those rules apply." Yuki finished as she teleported Tsunade to where Madara was, allowing for her to land a direct hit towards Madara.

Just in time, he managed to block the punch by creating a partial Susano around him. However, to his surprise, Tsunade's punch cracked the protective barrier. He backed away to prevent further damage and tried to burn Tsunade with a large scale fire jutsu. It was quickly nullified by the Mizukage water technique. He was then met with the Raikage and Tsuchikage combo that furthered the damage done on his Susano. Tsunade delivered the final blow with a powerful kick destroying the protective shield and sending him into the ground. Yuki began sealing him up as other Kages observed the process. He seemed unable to move any further. He then said:

"You are indeed not weak, but you've also underestimated me."

With those words, Yuki realized that she wasn't actually sealing Madara. It was merely a clone. Before she could let the Kages know, Tsunade was impaled by a sword right through her torso. Everybody gasped in horror as the real Madara emerged from the wood just a little bit further away.

"Now, who is next?" He then asked.

"Not so fast. I told you I was no ordinary medical shinobi." Tsunade then said.

She pulled the sword out and her wounds almost instantly healed themselves without requiring any other help. While he was preoccupied about the current situation, Yuki quickly summoned her Kiku once again and began gathering Nature Energy to enter her sage mode once again. It didn't take long for Madara to notice it and he quickly attacked her to prevent her from taking action. The Kages rushed into battle as well only to find out that Madara had the ability to absorb ninjutsus.

"I should have told you beforehand. Only direct hits can harm me."

They had forgotten about his Rinnegan. They did notice it, but since he hadn't used any of its abilities, they had forgotten.

"I could have used this before, but what was the point of using it against such weak fighters..." He started, trying to demoralize the group.

"We still forced you into using a clone to save your skin." Tsunade interrupted him with a smirk on her face.

He raised an eyebrow but did not disagree with that statement. As much as he looked down on them, he still recognized their achievement. As the fighting continued, he came to the realization that the willpower that they possessed was far more impressive than what he had thought. The only way to stop them was truly to attack that willpower. With that thought in mind, he created multiple clones that all gained the ability to create a Susano. He believed the fact that they were outnumbered would make them lose hope in winning. He was wrong. If anything, it added fuel to the fire that was burning inside each and everyone of them. The ratio was not as he stated 5 to 1, but rather, as the Tsuchikage put it into words so well, 30 to 6. They never fought together better than at that very moment. They tasted victory for just a second as all the clones were destroyed in Onoki's Dust Release, enlarged by Tsunade's chakra. However, Madara answered back by showing them a full Susano.

It was massive. If it was as strong as it looked, they were doomed. Before they could do anything, he pushed them back with a single sword swing. Yuki managed to stand her ground as she unleashed her own Susano. It was the first time she had done it. It didn't last long. She was still too unfamiliar with the technique. It allowed for the blow to be reduced when it reached the Kages however as she used it as a shield for everyone to hide behind.

"Weak." He said as he prepared a second attack towards them, noticing that she was unable to maintain the form.

However, as they braced themselves for the next attack, Madara's complete Susano began to disintegrate itself. He looked perplexedly at his body that was now becoming transparent. Yuki knew immediately what it meant. She looked over at Tsunade who gave her a nod. She quickly teleported herself elsewhere. He had put an end to it all. He kept his promise, like he always did. She wanted to see him one last time. She had to. She wanted to say goodbye, at the very least.

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 **End of Chapter 71**

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Thank you for reading this new chapter!

I struggled to write this one as I felt like I was mostly narrating the fight scene between the Kages and Madara rather than adding anything into it. Hopefully, it was still enjoyable.

xox

Krystal


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